Storrs Center, Tech Park, other development to add to demand for water

UConn campus. File photo copyright Brenda Sullivan

University of Connecticut officials Tuesday (June 28) said they have no “preferred option” for possible additional water supplies and they hope an Environmental Impact Evaluation – or EIE – will determine the best course of action.

A recently completed draft water management plan estimates UConn will need an additional 340,000 gallons per day by 2030.

Future water needs include service to the Depot Campus area, a technology park in the North Campus area, Storrs Center and a planned business area along King Hill Road.

UConn and Town of Mansfield officials hosted a public meeting Tuesday as part of a public comment period, which ends July 7, leading up to the EIE.

UConn needs to conduct the EIE because the recently approved $172-million bonding package for a technology park includes funding for a water system.

UConn hopes to complete the EIE by early next year, at which point a draft will be available for public comment for 45 days.

UConn would then make a recommendation to the state Office of Policy and Management, which would make a final decision.

UConn Office of Environmental Policy Director Richard Miller said the university is “determined” to go forward with the evaluation. “We think it’s the best approach to determine these issues,” he said of potential benefits and drawbacks of each option.

UConn has also discussed partnering with Mansfield, which could need as much as 170,000 gallons per day to help bring new business to the Four Corners, the area around the RT 44/RT 195 intersection.

Coite said the town and UConn are looking for a potential option that can provide between 500,000 and 1 million gallons per day.

Coite said the EIE will examine three potential options, including an interconnection with either the Connecticut Water Co. or Windham Water Works or drilling more well fields.

Coite said the evaluation would also examine the possibility none of the options are suitable.

The possible well field sites would be in two general areas in Mansfield, with potential locations along the Willimantic River south of UConn’s existing wells and in the Mansfield Hollow area.

Coite said the evaluation will look at the potential impacts of any of the options and said each one presents potential concerns.

He said an interconnection with Connecticut Water would take water from the Connecticut River basin, even though UConn is in the Willimantic River basin. Coite said moving water across basins can be a concern.

He also said the evaluation will have to determine how an interconnection with either water company will impact surrounding water bodies, while pipelines might have to go through conservation areas.

Coite said the EIE would also have to determine if well fields would provide enough water while also making sure they did not impact surrounding water bodies.

While most evaluations look solely at environmental impacts, Coite said this one will also look at factors such as costs, necessary permits and potential schedules for any projects.

Posted June 29, 2011 as edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan editor@htnp.com

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State to close Bergin Prison in Mansfield

The Bergin Correctional Institution on Route 44 in Mansfield, CT across from the former Mansfield Training School, currently houses about 900 inmates. Copyright HTNP.com 2009 file photo

The threat has been hanging in the air for months, but now it’s official. As a budget-cutting measure, the state plans to close Bergin Correctional Institution, the minimum-security prison located on Route 44 in Storrs-Mansfield, CT, according to Michael P. Lawlor of the CT Office of Policy and Management.

Employees, numbering more than 200, had already received pink slips and were told the prison could close July 1,  in the event that negotiations with labor unions – representing all state employees – failed.

Gov. Dannel Malloy has claimed that if labor unions agreed to his demand for concessions, this would cut costs by a total of $1.6 billion over two years.

Steps like closing some prisons – and cutting Educational Cost Sharing Grants and other aid to cities and towns – as well as thousands of layoffs are supposed to make up for a $700 million deficit.

Plans are to relocate Bergin’s 900-plus inmates to other facilities – including one that is currently for women only – and close the Mansfield buildings by mid-August.

The prison is part of state-owned property in the town of Mansfield that is included in the PILOT grant (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) that helps support the town’s budget. University of Connecticut property also is a part of that formula.

Rep. Gregory Haddad has said that closing the prison shouldn’t affect the PILOT payments because the state would still own the property.

The prison originally opened on March 13, 1989 as a “pre-release center” for those who qualified for “Level 2″ classification and coming to the end of their sentence. It offers substance-abuse treatment, literacy instruction and other programs to help the offender make the transition back into society.

The original population was 248 male inmates who were incarcerated for nonviolent offenses, or who had completed a specified percentage of their sentence without incident, had successfully completed furloughs and met other requirements. The originally agreed-upon population cap was 350 inmates and there were to be no sex offenders at this site.

Contrary to widespread belief that the prison housed only embezzlers and the like, the prison has housed those serving time for manslaughter and other violent crimes.

The prison was closed once before, in 1997 when its 350 inmates were redistributed to other facilities, again as a cost-saving measure. But it was re-opened two years later because of a need for more beds and the population rose to 500. Around this time, barbed wire was added to the top of the prison fences.

By February of 2001, when the prison was renamed the Donald T. Bergin Correctional Institution, it had an average inmate population of 650. And today, that number is more than 900.

Posted June 28, 2011

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Officials set to move earth for Storrs Center

Within the last 2 weeks or so the UConn Publications building (shaped like a quonset hut) was torn down. It was the first building to be taken down as the start of Storrs Center Construction begins its first phase. Photo: Roxanne Pandolfi

After years of planning and proposals, Storrs Center project officials will break ground for construction Wednes­day (June 29).

Project developers will be joined by local and state officials for the ceremony at 5 p.m. at the inter­section of Route 195 and Dog Lane, with parking available at E.O. Smith High School across the street.

“The groundbreaking for Storrs Center is a tremendous achieve­ment, especially in the current eco­nomic climate, for the Mansfield Downtown Partnership, the town of Mansfield and the University of Connecticut,” said Leyland Alliance LLC managing member Howard Kaufman.

Leyland Alliance is the master developer for the $220 million mixed- use development, which will include both retail and resi­dential spaces. The groundbreaking will be the ceremonial beginning of construc­tion for phases 1A and 1B, which will include roughly 290 rental apartments and 69,000 square feet of retail space.

Leyland Alliance has hired Edu­cation Realty Trust, or EDR, to manage the residential space.

Gov. Dannel Malloy, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill and State Rep. Gregory Haddad, D-Mansfield, are all scheduled to attend the ceremony. Mansfield Mayor Elizabeth “Bet­sy” Paterson, UConn President Susan Herbst, UConn President emeritus Philip Austin and Mans­field Downtown Partnership board of directors President Philip Lodewick are also expected to attend.

The town began looking to boost development in the area al­ong Route 195 a decade ago and formed the Mansfield Downtown Partnership Inc. in 2001 to over­see and coordinate the project.

“Nearly 10 years in the plan­ning, our vision for an economi­cally vibrant and vital commu­nity downtown is now becoming a reality,” Lodewick said. “The noise of bulldozers is music to our ears, and we look forward to a formal grand-opening of the first phase of a Storrs Center in the fall of 2012.”

Select Physical Therapy, Vanilla Bean Café, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Storrs Automotive, Wings Over Storrs, Travelplanners, Campus Cuts, Body Language, Tailoring by Tima, Cosimo’s Italian Restaurant and Insomnia Cookies have all submitted letters of intent to be located in the new center.

The first round of construc­tion will also include work to Route 195 and Dog Lane and the construction of a parking garage, Village Street and other aspects.

The Downtown Partnership has created a new web site – www.storrscenterconstruction.blogspot.com – to provide updates on road closures and other public adviso­ries associated with construction.

Dog Lane will closed Wednesday at 4:30 for the ceremony and will reopen once the ceremony is com­plete.

Anyone looking to attend is asked to first respond to the Mansfield Downtown Partnership Inc. at (860) 429-2740 or by e­mail at mdp@mansfieldct.org.

Posted 6-28-2011

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Plaza slated to add Farmer's Cow restaurant in Mansfield

courtesy thefarmerscow.com

The planning and zoning commission will conduct a public hearing next month as the plaza across from the East Brook Mall continues to change its stores.

The public hearing – scheduled for July 18 – is part of the special permit application for a restaurant at the plaza across from the mall on Route 195, which is owned by U.S. Properties Inc.

The application seeks approval for a Farmer’s Cow Café, a restaurant that would sell Farmer’s Cow dairy products and other items.

Farmer’s Cow is the brand name for dairy products affiliated with several local farms.

The Farmer’s Cow is a group of six Con­necticut farms, located in Franklin, Lebanon, Coventry, Hebron, Woodstock and Thompson that market their dairy products and other items together.

The 1,404-square-foot restaurant would be located next to the existing Staples store and would contain seating for up to 28 people.

The plaza also contains the Hoot, which moved to the plaza from the East Brook Mall. It will also have a PETCO pet store later this year.

The PZC approved a building modification in March that will allow U.S. Properties to combine two stores, which had been home to Sears Hometown Store and the Salvation Army.

U.S. Properties said in its application that PETCO, a nationwide chain of pet stores, is slated to open in October after the two stores are combined into one space.

PETCO has said it intends to sell pet food and supplies, as well as live tropical fish, birds, reptiles, hamsters and other animals.

The company would also offer pet grooming and training services and would also conduct veterinary services at the store.

U.S. Properties’ restaurant application said the Farmer’s Cow will also have an outside patio for additional seating beyond the 28 seats inside when weather allows.

The company said the café will mainly sell and promote products from Farmer’s Cow, including milk, ice cream, eggs and milk.

The application said the café will also served pre-baked muffins, breads and other bakery items, as well as sandwiches and soups, but will not do any cooking in the restaurant.

Posted 6-27-2011

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Mansfield reviewing nuisance ordinance

Looking to address complaints about resi­dents and rental tenants who disturb neighbors, the Mansfield Town Council hopes to have a nuisance ordinance in place before students return to the University of Connecticut in August.

The ordinance would allow police to fine people for creating neighborhood nuisances and also give the town the authority to penal­ize landlords whose properties are the site of repeat offenses.

“I think this is a very important tool,” said Deputy Mayor Toni Moran, who is also chair of the committee on community quality of life, which has been working on the draft.

The committee approved a draft late last year, but Mansfield Town Manager Matthew Hart also submitted the ordinance to the town attorney, state attorney general’s office and state police for comment.

He plans to send the draft to the Town Coun­cil today (June 27), which meets at 7:30 p.m. at the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building.

After seeing revisions to the draft ordinance, Moran and the rest of the council agreed to send the document to an ad-hoc subcommit­tee before scheduling a public hearing next month.

Councilmen Peter Kochenburger, Paul Shapiro and Meredith Lindsay will review the ordinance.

The council is hoping tonight to set a date for a pub­lic hearing.

Moran said the council could then conduct a public hearing in early July to get comment from residents.

The hope is for approval in time for the return of students later in the summer.

The “ordinance to prevent neighborhood nuisances” would apply town-wide.

Moran said the Quality of Life Committee began working on a draft after a number of complaints about the behavior of tenants, especially college-age ones.

She said the behavior, which was “some­times even frightening,” could lower property values in some neighborhoods and the ordinance would give resident state troop­ers “real authority” to control such actions.

The current draft defines nuisances as behavior that “includes disorderly, indecent, tumultuous or riotous conduct.”

The definition includes criminal activity such as crimes against properties, criminal mischief and serving alcohol to minors. But excessive pedestrian or motor vehicle traffic and excessive noise could also be considered a nuisance.

Police would be able to issue written warn­ings or $250 fines for tenants and guests who are found to be in violation of the ordinance.

But the town would also be able to issue $250 fines to landlords when tenants or guests on their property violate the ordinance mul­tiple times.

The ordinance would allow the town to issue a citation when the same residential premise is the site of more than two violations in six months, three in nine months or four in one year.

The town would then be able to issue a $250 citation to the property’s landlord for each additional violation by a tenant or guest once a threshold is met.

Town Building and Housing Department Director Mike Ninto said state police wanted the ordinance to specify the town, and not state police, would issue the citations to landlords.

He said state police wanted to focus on the criminal actions of tenants and guests, but not civil penalties.

State police would notify the town of all issued citations and town officials would handle the administrative tasks, such as track­ing repeat offenders.

Posted 6-27-2011

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Department of Public Health denies well plan for Mansfield's Ponde Place

Citing concerns about pollution, the state Department of Public Health last week denied an application for community wells at the Ponde Place apart­ment project on Hunting Lodge Road.

The move comes as the state Department of Public Utility Control reviews whether the proposed wells are sufficient. The DPH’s decision was the second denial in less than a year after the DPH and DPUC said another application in November also did not meet state regulations.

In a letter to project developer Keystone Companies LLC last Tuesday (June 21), DPH Public Water Section Chief Lori Mathieu said Keystone could still try and get an approval if it makes some alterations discussed previously.

Keystone Managing Director Tony Giorgio could not be reached for comment Friday.

The DPH’s review, dated Monday(June 20), said the most recent application was for a well system to service a 600-bed development and would need a water supply of 45,000 gal­lons of water per day.

But the DPH said the wells would be located too close to the sites of the University of Connecticut landfill and chemical pits, as well as other potential contamination sites.

UConn capped and closed the landfill and pits in 2005, a process that began after the state Department of Environmental Protection investigated the sites and issued a consent order.

As part of the cleanup process, UConn had to install monitoring wells and must rou­tinely check the wells over the next 30 years.

The review said state statutes require wells drawing between 10 and 50 gallons per minute be “as far removed from any known or probable source of pollution as the general layout” of the property allows.

But the proposed wells would be located approximately 800 feet from the nearest historical source of contamination and within the same water drainage basin as the UConn landfill.

The DPH said three of the four proposed wells in the applica­tion would be located adjacent to existing wells already on the long-term monitoring plan for the landfill because the existing wells “are the closest bedrock wells” to the site.

A DEP review raised concerns the four wells “could potentially intercept the contaminant plume” and draw contaminated water.

The DEP said monitoring tests for previous well sites, which were located further from the landfill and chemical pits and called for a smaller yield, still showed “some drawdown” in UConn’s monitor­ing wells and showed potential to spread contamination.

The DEP did not have data from the proposed wells, but said it “must assume pumping from the current wells would have a high­er likelihood of” drawing con­taminated water from the plume around the landfill and pits.

DPUC spokesman Phil Dukes said his department will still need to determine if the wells provide sufficient water supply and are sustainable long-term.

But Keystone Companies would still need to find a way to get DPH approval even if the DPUC says the proposed wells meet its regulations.

The two agencies both denied an application for wells to service 648 tenants in November, saying that system did not create an adequate supply.

The two agencies made some recommendations at that time to Keystone Companies, including downsizing the project or con­tracting to get water from another company.

A DPH letter to Keystone Com­panies summarizes a meeting to discuss the initial denial and indi­cated it needed written documen­tation of talks to reduce the scope of the project to 180 people.

But Giorgio said in April the company found water at a differ­ent location on the site and submitted the application denied by the DPH earlier last week.

Posted 6-27-2011

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Bank robber sentenced to life in prison

Francisco Deida had been out of prison – serving a sentence for prior crimes – only eight weeks before he committed the first robbery.

A Connecticut man will serve an unusually severe prison sentence for two bank robberies that – added to previous convictions – has earned him a life sentence under the “three strikes” law.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut David B. Fein announced that Francisco Deida, 47, of Bridgeport, was sentenced June 21, 2011 by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill to life in prison.

According to Atty. Fein, Deida’s extensive prior criminal record dates to 1983, when he was 18, and includes state convictions for first-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault and first-degree robbery.

Deida was sentenced this week under the federal “Three Strikes” law*, which requires that an offender receives a mandatory life sentence if he or she is convicted in federal court of a serious violent felony and has two or more prior convictions in federal or state courts, at least one of which is a serious violent felony.

According to ctpost.com, this is only the second time in Connecticut history that the federal three strikes law has been imposed.

Accomplices

Deida has been detained since May 28, 2009 after he was arrested in connection with two 2009 bank robberies.

On May 22, 2009, FBI agents first arrested Domingo Gonzalez in Bridgeport, who investigators say partnered with Deida in the two robberies.

At that time, police say Gonzalez was found in possession of a loaded .32 firearm, several fake moustaches and a make-up kit in his car.

Gonzalez and another accomplice Henry Crespo subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery of a Webster bank dating back to Jan. 28, 2009.

Gonzalez, who possessed a firearm during that robbery, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

For those convictions, Gonzalez and Crespo are serving prison terms of 18 years and four months and 4 years, respectively.

Webster Bank

Almost a year later, on March 3, 2010, a federal jury found Deida guilty of two counts of bank robbery including the Jan. 28, 2009 Webster Bank robbery and an April 6, 2009 robbery of a TDBank North. He had been out of prison – serving a sentence for prior crimes – only eight weeks before he committed the first robbery.

According to the evidence presented during the trial, on Jan. 28, 2009, Deida, Gonzalez and Crespo robbed the Webster Bank on Merwin Avenue in Milford, CT.

Investigators say Deida and Gonzalez entered the bank wearing heavy winter clothing, had their faces covered with masks and scarves, and were carrying umbrellas, which they kept open to block the bank’s video surveillance.

Gonzalez approached the bank manager, grabbed her by the arm, pressed a gun up against her and demanded access to the safe. Gonzalez then demanded that the bank manager and the assistant manager accompany him behind the teller line.

At the same time, Deida approached a bank teller, pulled out a gun, and demanded money.

Gonzalez directed all of the bank employees to a corner behind the teller line and told them to turn around while the teller emptied the bank’s day vault into a bag held by Deida.

Gonzalez and Deida then fled from the bank with approximately $84,000, in a car driven by Crespo.

TD Banknorth

According to Atty. Fein, on April 6, 2009, Deida and the two other individuals also robbed the TD Banknorth on Amity Road in Woodbridge, CT.

Like the previous robbery, investigators say Deida and Gonzalez wore heavy clothing, masks and disguises on their faces, and carried umbrellas.

Gonzalez entered the bank and vaulted over the teller line and demanded cash from two tellers.

At the same time, Deida approached branch manager, flashed a gun in his waistband and demanded access to the vault. Deida directed the bank employees to a safe deposit room behind the teller line while Gonzalez forced a bank employee to go into the vault with him.

Deida and Gonzalez left the bank with approximately $23,000, and fled in a car driven by Crespo.

During the course of the Woodbridge robbery, a U.S. postal carrier delivering mail to the bank observed the robbery in progress. The postal carrier then left the bank and called 911 from his postal vehicle.

Chased by police, Crespo drove the getaway car from Woodbridge into the Rock Creek neighborhood of New Haven. There, investigators say, Crespo slowed the car and Deida and Gonzalez jumped out and fled on foot.

Crespo abandoned the car a few blocks later but was apprehended later that day in the neighborhood.

These crimes were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Milford Police Department, the Woodbridge Police Department, the New Haven Police Department, and the Connecticut State Police.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah P. Karwan.

Posted June 25, 2011

* the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act

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In Mansfield, E.O. Smith Class of 2011 remembers classmate

E. O. Smith High School Class of 2011 Hannah Dooling, left, and her father, Kevin Dooling, wipe tears of joy from their eyes after the June 23 commencement. Photo by Marie Brennan

While graduations are proud moments for both students and their families, for many attending E.O. Smith High School’s ceremonies for the Class of 2011 (June 23) it was bittersweet because of a missing classmate.

Daniel Nadeau, from Mansfield, died in July 2008 at the age of 15 from head injuries after he fell from a fishing boat in New York. He would have graduated Thursday.

Class Vice President Emily Westa said Nadeau was “the kind of guy everyone was a little in love with,” because of his humor and charm.

She said it was “impossible not to smile” whenever she was around Nadeau.

Westa told the audience the class signed a yearbook for his family and created a scholarship in his honor as part of their class gift.

She and Class of 2011 President Christina deVecchis gave the student speeches, as E.O. Smith has the class officers address the audience instead of the traditional salutatorian and valedictorian.

DeVecchis told fellow graduates to embrace any challenges because their time at E.O. Smith has “changed us from adolescents to adults ready to take the world by storm.”

“Whatever your ‘great’ perhaps might hold, I hope it brings you nothing but happiness,” she also said, referring to a quote from French writer Francois Rabelais.

Proud graduates

Other students in the Class of 2011 also said their class is a close-knit group of friends.

Jacob Jordan, left, and Matthew Satriano take part in a surprise drum corps performance after all the speeches at E.O. Smith's June 23 graduation ceremonies at the Jorgesen Center for the Performing Arts. Leading the corps was fellow graduate David Keplesky. Photo by Marie Brennan

“I’d say everybody was pretty close,” said Andrew Hart of Willington, and added that the friendships he made will his favorite memories of E.O. Smith.

Kylie Hill, of Storrs/Mansfield, agreed and said the class came together because of its pride in the school, especially its sports teams but added, “I think we showed our pride in a lot of ways.”

She said the “well-rounded” class participated in a lot of programs, including sports, music and drama and those not participating also showed plenty of support.

Hill said she was looking forward to meeting new people, but she and Hart both said they were also nervous about moving on and facing some of the challenges that lie ahead.

Letting go

Commencement speaker Raouf Mama, an English professor at Eastern Connecticut State University, offered words of encouragement to nervous graduates.

He told them to use their fire, their passion, and their “boundless energy” to make the world a better place for all.

Commencement Speaker Dr. Raouf Mama of Eastern CT State University engages his audience at the Class of 2011 E.O. Smith High School commencement exercises June 23. Photo by Marie Brennan

Mama is a frequent guest speaker in English classes at E.O. Smith but his daughter, Rabiath Mama, a member of the Class of 2011 also is the second of his children to graduate from the school.

Graduation isn’t just bittersweet for students, he said; parents also find themselves asking “Where the have the years gone?”

One of the paradoxes of life, he added, is that when parents teach their children to walk, “they are also teaching them to walk away.”

He said it “seems like only yesterday” he would tell his daughter stories as they waited together for the school bus. “I loved to watch her listening to me,” Mama said.

Posted June 24, 2011 as edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan

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