CT Construction Digest Wednesday March 9, 2022
Electrician got $2.4 million job from contractor after school project vote
Member of Bristol school building committee voted to give work to D’Amato Construction, then got hired in Tolland
A Southington electrical contractor who worked with a Bristol construction company for “more than 30 years” voted to make that company the general contractor on a $67 million school building project in Bristol — and later received a $2.5 million contract from that same company to work at another project in Tolland, documents show.
Stephan Masotti, of Masotti Electric, has been a member of the Memorial Boulevard Intradistrict Arts Magnet School Building Committee since November 2017. The committee voted to make D’Amato Construction the general contractor on the $67 million project in December 2018.
A federal grand jury is investigating the awarding of school contracts in Bristol and Tolland to D’Amato Construction and the role that the state’s Office of School Construction Grants & Review (OSCG&R), headed up at the time by Konstantinos Diamantis, played in the process.
[The Kosta Diamantis timeline]
Just a few months after voting to give the Bristol project to D’Amato Construction, Masotti Electric got a $2.4 million contract from D’Amato to work at the Birch Grove Primary School project in Tolland, where D’Amato was the general contractor.
Tony D’Amato said Tuesday that “There was no correlation between Masotti being on the Bristol school committee and his company getting the electrical contract in Tolland.”
“He’s a Bristol guy, and his company has done work for us for more than 30 years,” D’Amato said. “There’s absolutely no correlation between the two projects. We use his company all of the time.”
Masotti had no comment about the Birch Grove Primary School job when contacted Tuesday.
He referred any questions to the Bristol school committee to the chairman, Michael Dietter. Masotti declined to comment on whether he ever told committee members that he has been a regular subcontractor for D’Amato.
Dietter issued a statement through the district’s press liaison Brian Burke on Tuesday.
“Building Committee members are selected and appointed through a process outlined in the City of Bristol Charter. Mr. Masotti was recommended as a member of the professional community of the City, to Mayor Cockayne on October 17, 2017,” Dietter wrote.
“In a subsequent action by the City Council in November of 2017, Mr. Masotti was added to the Memorial Boulevard Intradistrict Arts Magnet School Building Committee. Mr. Masotti is not a subcontractor on the Memorial Boulevard Intradistrict Arts Magnet School Project.”
As a subcontractor on the Birch Grove job in Tolland, Masotti would have been hired directly by D’Amato, the general contractor for that $46 million school project.
Masotti Electric was paid about $2.39 million by D’Amato as the electrical contractor for Birch Grove, according to sources familiar with the project.
Last week, the grand jury issued subpoenas to Tolland and Bristol, asking for all documents regarding the two school projects as well as any correspondence with Konstantinos Diamantis, who oversaw the state program, or any other employee of OSCG&R.
A unanimous vote in Bristol
At a meeting on Dec. 20, 2018, the Memorial Boulevard School Intradistrict Arts Magnet School Committee unanimously chose the team D’Amato construction and Downes Construction, which teamed up to bid on the Bristol project. The team won the bid over three other contractors following presentations by each finalist and a 25-minute discussion in executive session, according to minutes of the meeting.
The other finalists were O&G Industries, the Gilbane Building Company and Consigli Construction, minutes show.
The committee voted unanimously to award the contract to D’Amato/Downes even though they only scored third out of the final four on the preliminary grading metrics the committee had established.
The vote was unanimous with no abstentions, indicating that Masotti voted for the D’Amato/Downes team, minutes show.
The committee also voted to approve a series of change orders submitted by the D’Amato/Downes team, and all of them were approved unanimously with no abstentions, indicating that Masotti voted for them as well, according to minutes of the meeting.
The committee’s last meeting was January 27, 2022. Masotti is still on the board.
The school in Tolland
Even though the Birch Grove Primary School project started after the Bristol school project, construction in Tolland began sooner, and the school was completed earlier.
Tolland was declared an emergency contract by the former commissioner of the state Department of Administrative Services, Melody Currey, because the old school had a crumbling foundation and was deemed unsafe.
The emergency declaration allowed town officials to hire a general contractor and construction management firm without going out to bid. Town and school officials have said that Diamantis pressured them to give the job to D’Amato.
It is unclear when Masotti started working at the Birch Grove Primary School, but change order records show the company submitted its first in August 2020 for $51,274.
In total, Masotti Electric submitted 22 change orders to D’Amato Construction and the construction manager Construction Advocacy Professionals (CAP) over a one-year period beginning in August 2020, according to a spreadsheet of change orders prepared by D’Amato for the Birch Grove school building committee.
National Coast Guard Museum construction poised to start this summer
New London — The first phase of construction for the National Coast Guard Museum could begin as early July, with demolition to begin on a portion of City Pier Plaza.
Retired USCG Capt. Wes Pulver, president of the National Coast Guard Museum Association, announced the news at Monday’s City Council meeting.
“We’ve talked about this project for many years, but the news is that there are decisions being made right now or on the immediate horizon, which will result in us starting Phase 1 construction this summer,” Pulver said.
Pulver expressed confidence in the project earning the necessary state and federal permits and said the National Coast Guard Museum Association has $81 million committed toward the $150 million fundraising goal of the project. He did not comment on the possibility of an infusion of $50 million into the project that is expected to be taken up by Congress as part of a larger spending package as early as this week.
Sen. Chris Murphy has said he is seeking the $50 million as part of the fiscal year 2022 Homeland Security bill, which provides for discretionary funding of $71.7 billion. Murphy, who is chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee of Homeland Security, has advocated for the inclusion of those funds and highlighted the fact the Coast Guard is the only branch of the military without a national museum.
Phase I of the museum project will lay the groundwork for construction of the waterfront museum and a pedestrian bridge that spans the railroad tracks at Union Station on Water Street. The work will include demolition of portions of City Pier on its north end and bulkheading, or installation of sheet piles, to build out some of the existing shoreline and square off the area where the museum will stand.
The future museum's site is adjacent to operations of Cross Sound Ferry.
"We have been working collaboratively with the staff at the USCG museum association to ensure that the project will have minimal, if any, impact on (Cross Sound Ferry’s) operations," said Stan Mickus, director of public affairs for Cross Sound Ferry.
And while the museum association is promising to mitigate disruptions to events on the city’s waterfront, at least one business owner thinks the start of construction is ill-timed for a beleaguered downtown business community fighting to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic slump.
Rod Cornish, owner of Hot Rod Cafe on Bank Street, said downtown businesses have struggled to stay afloat for the past two years of the pandemic. He is a supporter of the planned Coast Guard museum and the many benefits he thinks it will bring to the city and region. But businesses like his were counting on a big summer and events on the waterfront help to drive downtown business.
“We finally have a break in the COVID action and an opportunity to recoup the losses we’ve taken ... and people excited about going places again,” Cornish said. “I feel like this is going to gut our summer. It’s going to hurt.”
Pulver said conditions expected as part of the permitting process will limit work to July 1 through the end of December for the protection of marine wildlife. To accommodate the return of Sailfest, the city’s largest summertime event, Pulver said work should start on July 11. Sailfest runs from July 8 to July 10.
North Stonington-based A/Z Corp. won the contract for construction manager and will provide oversight of the project’s first phase.
The museum association still awaits permits from both the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Pulver said he expects the first phase will take seven to nine months, while a decision on a timeline for the pedestrian bridge and museum will come later. Barbara Neff, the city’s dockmaster and event planner, said the full extent of the impact on city events and other happenings at City Pier, such as a potential visit from a tall ship, are not yet known.
Plans call for removal of a gazebo, raised stage, a statue and some of the ramps to the floating docks at City Pier, along with removal of 6,020 square feet of existing concrete platform, according to the museum association’s application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
In addition to Sailfest, Neff said a portion of the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival annually holds events at City Pier. “We need to meet to try and figure out what is going to be impacted and makes plans around it,” she said. “I don’t have a problem working around construction. I’ve had to do it many times. But I usually get a little bit more of a heads-up.”
Cornish said he is hoping city leaders makes a push to delay the start of construction.
Mayor Michael Passero said the impact of the construction schedule will be the source of discussions in the coming weeks and months. “We’re going to be able to work our programming around the construction," he said, "I’m confident of that.”
Passero said that after years of talk, it's great news that a major national tourist attraction in the heart of the city is finally coming to fruition.
City Council President Efrain Dominguez echoed that sentiment at Monday’s meeting.
“This has been a long time coming,” Dominguez said. “This is going to happen in New London and we’re very excited to be part of this.”
Planned funding for projects at three Greenwich schools moves ahead to next step in budget process
GREENWICH — Funding for major school construction projects proposed for three schools got the green light from the Board of Estimate & Taxation’s Budget Committee — but there are more hurdles ahead to clear.
During a vote Tuesday, the Budget Committee approved the additional proposed allocation of $2.5 million for architecture and engineering work for a new Central Middle School as well as the previously requested $1.5 million allocations each for design work for renovations at Old Greenwich School and Julian Curtiss School.
Many expected the committee to debate the projects at the elementary schools. But .the only comment came from Budget Committee member Leslie Moriarty, who said the Old Greenwich School project was “important” and “needs to move forward.”
Next, the proposed $464 million municipal budget will go to the full BET for a vote March 31, when members can still make motions to reduce or cut budget items. The BET will consider the budget line by line, hearing motions from the Budget Committee and other members, including on $87 million in proposed capital project requests.
It will then go to the Representative Town Meeting in May for a final vote.
Board of Education Chair Kathleen Stowe said she was happy with the Budget Committee’s approval.
“I am pleased to see the Budget Committee moving forward with our major capital projects,” Stowe told Greenwich Time. “I’m glad we could reach consensus on the need to maintain strong infrastructure to support our schools.”
Approval for the new allocation for Central Middle School was expected after the building was closed for two weeks in February for emergency repairs after problems were found with its structural integrity.
Scaffolding and netting were installed along some exterior walls, and work will continue over the summer. The plan is make the building safe for use for the next five years while a new building is constructed.
“I fully support this,” Budget Committee Chair Leslie Tarkington said of the proposed $2.5 million allocation. “I think we all are very concerned about Central Middle School and moving forward as rapidly as possible with construction.”
Last week, the BET approved $1.6 million to help cover the cost of those emergency repairs as well as $150,000 to begin work on educational specifications for a new school. Those ed specs would form the basis for the plans that would be drawn up under the $2.5 million allocation. The plan would call for completing construction on a new school by January 2026.
A building committee for the new Central Middle School would have to be in place and approved by the RTM by the end of June.
The final price tag for the construction is not yet known. It has been estimated at $67.5 million for a future year’s budget, but more specifics would become clear through the ed specs as well as the initial architecture and engineering work.
Budget Committee member Nisha Arora said Tuesday that she believes that the cost could be significantly lower.
“The Board of Education has no business estimating the cost of this project,” Arora said. “The fact that we have $67.5 million in here without educational specifications having been drawn up is, to me, really premature. I’m not saying that’s the wrong number. I’m saying it’s a premature number.”
Budget Committee member Laura Erickson said, “It may not be the right number, but it’s not a bad number. It’s not like they just made it up out of thin air.”
The project for Central Middle School has been accelerated. The $2.5 million for the architecture and engineering work was originally planned for the 2025 fiscal year, with the construction funds in fiscal 2026. But the concerns over the building’s structural integrity vaulted it to the top of the town’s priority list.
The $2.5 million budget request for 2022-23 replaces the original call for $250,000 to study the options of replacing or renovating the building. The $250,000 request was cut from the budget Monday, and other reductions were made for future Central masonry work that would no longer be necessary.
School district COO Sean O’Keefe told the BET last week that those reductions would allow the $2.5 million addition to be budget neutral since the reductions would offset the new cost.
Construction of the new school would begin in the 2023-24 fiscal year if funding is approved. Arora said Tuesday that the timeline could be accelerated if the community wishes.
She said the project could be eligible for state grants it will be seeking this year instead of next year even without completed design work.
“I am very supportive of this project and very supportive of encouraging the acceleration of this — if that is indeed what the community wants. But I do want the community to know the facts,” Arora said. “And the facts of this matter are that if this project (were to be accelerated) the bottleneck is the financial boards.
“The three things required for the grant are educational specifications, an RTM resolution with an appropriate funding source and a commitment from our financial boards that we are going to do our part in this,” she said. “I am not by any means suggesting we need to do this project in two-and-a-half years but I want the community to understand there are options to accelerate this.”
However, others have disagreed, including Superintendent of Schools Toni Jones, that the district would be ready to submit everything by June 30 to be eligible for a state grant this year.
“We can consider over the next few weeks if we can move ahead even faster than this. It would take a little bit of a culture change for the BET and the RTM,” Moriarty said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Advocates for the projects at Old Greenwich School and Julian Curtiss School are expected to lobby the full BET for approval.
Funding for both project has been deferred in the past, and many parents spoke in support of the projects at the initial public hearing on the proposed budget in January. Parents from both schools called for improved accessibility, security and classroom space.
The full BET will hold a public hearing on the budget on March 28.
Bridgeport seeks developers for more downtown housing
BRIDGEPORT — Even as construction continues on a delayed, 90-unit apartment complex and plans move forward to convert the just-shuttered Holiday Inn into housing, Mayor Joe Ganim’s administration is pushing for even more downtown residential development.
The city has issued a pair of requests for proposals from developers for municipal-owned lots at Golden Hill Street, which is across from the historic Superior Court building, and around the corner from that location at Main and Middle streets adjacent to the new Berlinetta Brewing Company.
In both cases applicants are urged to submit concepts for housing. For the past several years, including before Ganim took office in late 2015, city officials have prioritized increasing the downtown population in order to boost that neighborhood’s economy to support the restaurants, stores and other businesses there and to attract others.
Plus there is currently an overall low vacancy rate across Connecticut, and Bridgeport is no exception.
“Right now residential occupancy is effectively at 100 percent,” Economic Development Director Thomas Gill said in a statement. “And the retail and restaurant offerings have grown into an eclectic blend that really gives the city a distinct identity.”
While area businesses struggled during the coronavirus pandemic, the health crisis hardly turned downtown into a ghost town. Plenty of establishments survived, like comedy and karaoke clubs, and there are new arrivals, including Berlinetta, which launched last summer, and a just-opened sports bar.
“We anticipate a strong response from the development community,” Gill said of the requests for proposals, which expire in early April.
Currently city-based developer John Guedes, known for his work in Shelton, is constructing 90 market-rate apartments on formerly city-owned land at Congress and Main streets. That project, proposed in 2019, was significantly delayed by contaminated soil and the coronavirus pandemic. Completion is now scheduled for spring 2023.
And Guedes in early February purchased the 40-year-old downtown Holiday Inn, Bridgeport’s only major hotel, for $6.5 million to turn into furnished apartments with some extended-stay suites for long-term guests. The hotel’s business had been hurting prior to the global health crisis, which only exacerbated its business problems.
Guedes has agreed with the city’s push for more downtown apartments.
“If you bring in the market rate residential developments, then it generates a need” for more services/retail, he said in January after confirming his interest in purchasing the Holiday Inn.
But some, like Kelvin Ayala, a downtown businessman and consultant, are worried the loss of the Holiday Inn will hurt the neighborhood’s nightlife.
“Losing the Holiday Inn is detrimental,” Ayala said last month. “I cannot explain to you how much business would come (from there).”
Farmington PZC approves 199-unit mixed-use apartment development
The Farmington Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday approved a proposal to construct apartments and commercial space at a site along Farmington Avenue.
JRF Management LLC and Kaoud Real Estate Development LLC submitted plans to build 199 apartment units and over 54,000 square feet of commercial space in new and rehabilitated buildings at 1349, 1371, 8218 and 8237 Farmington Ave., on a stretch of Route 4 that runs between the Farmington River to the west and a collection of lakes and ponds to the east.
The McCallum industrial building, situated between Farmington Avenue and the Farmington River, would be converted for residential and commercial use, eventually joining other residential buildings that would be built in the area.
The developers also plan to reconfigure and extend a section of the Farmington Heritage Canal Trail that runs through the area, crossing 8560 New Britain Ave. and 8794 Sequassen Road. Those two parcels are owned by the state and the town, respectively, and the partners have agreed to assume design and permitting costs for the work there.
The area is part of the “Midpoint Development District,” set up by the town to encourage the redevelopment of underused or vacant commercial land in a manner conducive to maintaining the surrounding wetlands.
Representatives for JRF and Kaoud have said their plan conforms to the town’s goals.
“Utilizing private and public connections along the abutting Farmington River via extension of the public Farmington Heritage Canal Trail across the Site, the desired outcome is the creation of a live, work, shop and play community without total dependency on the automobile, as envisioned for the [Midpoint Development District] in the [Farmington Plan of Conservation and Development],” the application states.
Eversource’s Aquarion to acquire Torrington Water Co.
Eversource’s water service subsidiary Aquarion has agreed to acquire the Torrington Water Co.
Under the terms of the deal — already approved by the boards of directors of both companies — Aquarion would take control of Torrington Water through a stock-for-stock transaction in which TWC investors would receive common shares of Eversource in exchange for their stake in the company. The arrangement implies a per-share price of $92.81.
Eversource said it expects to issue between 885,000 and 925,000 common shares at closing.
The Torrington Water Co., which has assets of approximately $65 million, provides water service to customers in Torrington and portions of Burlington, Harwinton, Litchfield and New Hartford. It serves about 10,100 customers.
Aquarion said all TWC employees will be retained.
The acquisition must win the approval of Torrington Water stockholders. It is also subject to approval from the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.