Month: December 2018
Senator Bye E-News: Support Local Toy Drives This Holiday Season
Senator Duff works with Rowayton Historical Society to Secure Grant for Frank E. Raymond Boathouse Renovation
Senator Duff works with Rowayton Historical Society to Secure Grant for Frank E. Raymond Boathouse Renovation
Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) today announced that the Rowayton Historical Society is slated to receive state funding to renovate the Frank E. Raymond Boathouse in Pinkney Park. The former Barclay Boathouse is home to the Historical Society’s maritime collection and helps tell the story of Long Island Sound.
The Historical Society will receive $37,000 in state bond funds to renovate the space, making it more relevant by adding a narrative to tell the history of the Five Mile River and the Long Island Sound.
“Preserving and promoting our local history is integral in creating a stronger sense of community,” said Senator Duff. “The renovated boathouse will provide an incredible education opportunity for students and families to learn about Norwalk’s past and hopefully inspire the next generation of historians.”
“The Historical Society continues to pursue new and exciting ways to convey our shared history with our community,” said Wendell Livingston, President of the Rowayton Historical Society. “This new exhibit space will contain innovative and engaging narratives about the Long Island Sound, its people and environs. The Raymond Boathouse will be the only museum in our area that interprets local maritime history. On behalf of the Historical Society I’d like to thank Senator Duff and State Bond Commission for facilitating this grant.”
The renovated boathouse will host exhibits on specific topics such as local oystering families, Native Americans, hurricanes, ship builders, sailing heroes, and maritime disasters. It will also have a permanent exhibit on the ecological history of the Long Island Sound, highlighting the flora, fauna and marine life that flourish in its waters, centered around a hand-painted mural. In conjunction with these exhibits and new space, the boathouse will present a range of fun and engaging programs that connect the community with our maritime history.
The Rowayton Historical Society has received commitments of $20,000 from the Sixth Taxing District in Rowayton for building renovation and $3,000 from the Rowayton Civic Association for the mural of the flora and fauna of Five Mile River.
Sen. Osten Secures State Bonding To Help Purchase Norwich Police Radio System
Sen. Osten Secures State Bonding To Help Purchase Norwich Police Radio System
NORWICH — State Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) today announced that she has helped secure a $500,000 state grant to help Norwich taxpayers afford the cost of a new police department radio system – a 70-year-old system which voters just decided at the polls in November should be replaced at a cost of $2.7 million.
Sen. Osten said the state aid will help reduce the cost to local taxpayers by nearly 20 percent. The state grant is on the State Bond Commission agenda for its meeting next week, Tuesday December 11, 2019, in the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.
“By a three-to-one margin, Norwich voters approved replacing this outdated public safety radio system just last month, and Mayor Nystrom told me that state financial assistance for this project was a top priority for him. So I made it a top priority for the citizens of Norwich,” Sen. Osten said. “I was a corrections officer for over 20 years. I know how important fully operable radio communications are to the security of front-line peace officers and to the tens of thousands of people they protect. I want to thank the governor and the State Bond Commission for helping to fund this public safety project in Norwich and for saving local taxpayers a lot of money.”
“The $500,000 grant for the police radio project obtained by Senator Osten will contribute greatly to the funding of an important public safety project,” said Norwich City Manager John Salomone. “The city is very thankful to Senator Osten as we move forward to modernizing the city’s radio systems.”
In November, Norwich residents overwhelming voted at referendum to spend $2.7 million on a new police radio system, which was first installed in the 1940s.
The new system will ‘piggyback’ on the State of Connecticut’s existing emergency broadcast infrastructure of state-owned radio towers, thereby saving taxpayers even more money and eliminating some of the communications ‘dead spots’ that police officers encounter in the 30-square mile town with elevation variations ranging from 511 feet on Hearthstone Hill to just 75 feet above sea level at Versailles Pond.
Senator Bye E-News: Access Health Open Enrollment
Senate President Looney Elected Chair of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation
Senate President Looney Elected Chair of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation
Connecticut State Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) was chosen by a bipartisan group of state legislative leaders from across the United States to serve as Chairman of the nonpartisan State Legislative Leaders Foundation board of directors (SLLF) at its annual board meeting held this year in Las Vegas on November 30th.
He is the first chairman of the organization from Connecticut.
“Good ideas aren’t constrained by state borders, and no political party has a monopoly on effective public policy,” Senator Looney said. “I am deeply honored to have been chosen by my peers from across the political spectrum in our nation to lead this prestigious bipartisan organization.”
The State Legislative Leaders Foundation was established in 1972 and is the only organization that specifically exists to bring legislative leaders together, from both major parties, to educate and inspire. The nonpartisan, nonprofit organization serves as a professional educational resource providing legislators with relevant, objective information and insights. Its programs are usually conducted in cooperation with major U.S. universities.
“Marty has been an active member of SLLF for years and is one of the most humble and intelligent leaders I’ve had the pleasure to work with,” said SLLF President Steve Lakis. “Together, I know we will continue to bring important programming to legislative leaders across America.”
Senator Looney’s appointment to the board of directors as Chairman begins immediately. He will serve a two year term.
Sen. Moore Announces $14.6Million State Funding for Bridgeport Projects
Sen. Moore Announces $14.6Million State Funding for Bridgeport Projects
Bond Commission set to approve funds at its December 11 meeting
Senate Chair of the State Bond Commission Senator Marilyn Moore (D-Bridgeport) announced today the expected approval of over $14.6 million for various economic development projects in Bridgeport, including the replacement of the Congress Street Bridge, improvements to Sikorsky Memorial Airport, maintenance of the coastal flood defense system, and preservation of Remington Arms.
“As we envision a future for Bridgeport full of economic growth and job opportunities, these projects will be part of how we achieve that,” Sen. Moore said. “I’m especially excited about the work being done to finally restore the Congress Street Bridge, which was once a major link between Downtown and the city’s East Side, and about the improvements to Sikorsky Memorial Airport. These transportation infrastructure projects will support future initiatives— like the entertainment that’s being proposed— and will attract other businesses to our city. I am glad to secure funding for these excellent projects in my district.”
When it meets on Tuesday, December 11, the State Bond Commission is expected approve the following items:
- $3,700,000 grant-in-aid to the City of Bridgeport to assist with the replacement of the Congress Street Bridge.
- $2,273,231 from the Department of Housing Shoreline Resiliency Fund to fund the required non-federal match for the Resilient Bridgeport project funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development National Disaster Resilience Competition. The matching funds will contribute to construction, operations, maintenance and related costs of the coastal flood defense system being constructed as a result of Super Storm Sandy.
- $1,000,000 grant-in-aid to the City of Bridgeport to assist with ongoing demolition, site remediation and historic preservation at the abandoned and blighted Remington Arms complex.
- $7,000,000 grant-in-aid to the City of Bridgeport to provide a match to private investment for “Phase 1” of improvements to Sikorsky Memorial Airport. The project includes improvements to the airport’s roadways and parking areas, construction of a terminal building and the rehabilitation of an existing abandoned structure to be reused as an operations center. All necessary financial commitments and assurances must be in place prior to any state funds being disbursed.
- $353,654 grant-in-aid to the McGivney Community Center, Inc. to finance demolition of the adjacent former Saint Charles Church School for parking and outdoor recreation space.
- $262,840 to finance alterations, improvements and technology equipment at Technical Education and Career Schools in Bridgeport.
- $100,000 grant-in-aid to match private funding in communities where Martin Luther King, Jr. corridors are established. The funds will be available for streetscape improvements, signage and way finding enhancements and façade improvements.
Senator Osten Lauds Massive Workforce Investments in State Bond Package
Senator Osten Lauds Massive Workforce Investments in State Bond Package
HARTFORD — State Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) today praised Connecticut’s investment of nearly $19 million in a variety of apprenticeship, manufacturing supply chain, vocational-technical, emerging technology and other business-friendly workforce investment financing included on the State Bond Commission agenda for next week.
The agenda includes $5 million alone for one of Sen. Osten’s signature pro-jobs legislative accomplishments, the Apprenticeship Connecticut Initiative, which is designed to create workforce pipeline programs and train qualified entry-level residents for jobs with Connecticut-based manufacturers and other employers in state industries that need more workers.
That jobs program and the state bonding to support it will be especially useful in eastern Connecticut, which has seen a 9.1% increase in manufacturing jobs over the past year and whose regional unemployment rate is now lower than the national average.
“For years now my mantra has been the jobs in Connecticut are there, the jobs are growing, and we just need the people, the trained workforce, to fill those jobs,” Sen. Osten said. “That’s what this state bonding does: it puts people in the pipeline to be trained for high-paying, in-demand jobs right here in Connecticut. Big corporate CEOs and small manufacturing owners are begging Connecticut to help put people on their shop floors and fill the orders that are rolling in. That’s what we’re doing. And the best part of these investments is that it keeps young people in the state, buying homes, raising families, and living the American dream right here in Connecticut.”
Next week’s State Bond Commission agenda includes:
- $5,000,000 as the first installment in the $50 million Apprenticeship Connecticut initiative, which will develop workforce pipeline programs to train qualified entry-level workers for job placement with manufacturers and employers in other industry sectors in the state that are experiencing sustained workforce shortages. The initiative shall include, where practicable, outreach to underserved populations, including youths, to achieve success in the program and support the state’s economic development progress.
- $5,000,0000 to finance grants-in-aid and loans from the state Department of Economic and Community Development’s Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund to the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) for research and development to assist the Connecticut Manufacturing Supply Chain initiative.
- $3,800,000 to finance alterations, improvements and technology equipment at technical education and career schools in Ansonia, Bridgeport, Bristol, Danbury, Danielson, Groton, Hamden, Hartford, Manchester, Meriden, Middletown, Milford, New Britain, Norwich, Stamford, Stratford, Torrington, Waterbury, and Windham.
- $2,625,000 to finance the advanced manufacturing and emerging technology program for the Connecticut State College and University System.
- $2,500,000 to provide a grant-in-aid to Trinity College to assist with renovations to establish an Innovation and Entrepreneurship space at One Constitution Plaza in Hartford.
The State Bond Commission is scheduled to meet Tuesday, December 11, 2019 in Room 1-E of the legislative Office Building in Hartford.