Thursday, February 9, 2012

Bonding Actions by The Common Council becomes an Issue

Once again, Mayor O'Brien plays the blame game regarding the Police Station building project - I don't know, maybe it makes him feel good.

I have written about this subject before but it bears repeating; the boding issue would have been completed this past summer by the previous Council had the then, Mayor Pro Tem not threatened to have the bonding resolution tabled.

To prevent construction of the police station from coming to a complete stop, Mayor Stewart withdrew the resolution, saving three projects from months-long delays (you know, union stuff). The additional bonding approved at last night's Council meeting would not have been something with which O'Brien would have to deal. The bonding then could probably have been done at a better rate.

Now, O'Brien says that his newly formed Police Station Building Committee will scrutinize project costs in an effort to effect some savings. This, years after architects, construction experts, engineers, police experts and telecommunications experts have done their collective jobs. Can't wait to hear what these "experts" find!"


Louis Salvio

16 comments:

Frank Smith said...

I agree with you Lou:::: Mayor O'Brien claimed that he inherited the need of Bonding needs when in reality it was President Pro-Tempore Alderman Michael Trueworhty's threat to table that stopped the bonding resolve to make the day of light.

fs

Mike Laccacula said...

This deal was bad from the start,we paid too much for that property that was flipped before the city purchase

Anonymous said...

Isn't this just a little late?

Anonymous said...

There's not much design work left, other than maybe deciding what color to paint the toilets.

Anonymous said...

I think they would have been better off to locate the station someplace where there actually is enough land to accommodate it. Perhaps, the Pinnacle Heights property?

Anonymous said...

and we were going to receive better rates so long as construction made certain time deadlines....

They just like to hear themselves talk and feel like their important... and they do and they can be because they get the democratic vote.

We pay.

Anonymous said...

forgive me if I am mistaken ,but wasn't Mr. Salvio on the council when all this was approved?

Lou Salvio said...

Sir:

You don't or don't want to read very well. The previous Council never approved the increase in bonding; the vote was never taken because Trueworthy threatened to have it tabled. Had the bonding resolution been tabled, CONSTRUCTION ON THREE PROJECTS WOULD HAVE STOPPED! SO, MAYOR STEWART WITHDREW THE RESOLUTION TO PREVENT STOPPAGE OF CONSTRUCTION.

PLEASE, READ MY COMMENT THAT WAS THE INTRO
TO THIS SUBJECT.

Anonymous said...

Stopping the construction on this project might have turned out to be a good thing due to the horrible location and high costs involved.

Lou Salvio said...

" Anonymous said...
Stopping the construction on this project might have turned out to be a good thing due to the horrible location and high costs involved.

February 10, 2012 1:26 PM"

Sir: You really can't be serious about this message! My last word on this subject.

Anonymous said...

Sir: You really can't be serious about this message! My last word on this subject.

Of course I am. The downtown police station in Middletown has proven to be a horrific experience, and what does New Britain do, they copy it!

Those who don't learn from history are destined to repeat it!

Anonymous said...

I wonder who came up with the brilliant idea to copy the Middletown station even after it has proven to be a huge disappointment in that city?

could it be........?

Anonymous said...

Middletown's Station certainly is not a negative for that community quite the contrary. To what do you refer? I'm stymied by that statement. The catalyst for Middletown;s rebirth was the location of their PD downtown which has made people feel safe in the area after a horrific stabbing death of a young girl by an escapee from the CVH. Don't believe me just ask anyone who was involved with the project during its inception. More idiocy from left wing lunatics Frank.
The facts are that the cost of the PD escalated because of the increase in the square footage of the structure because of issues beyond the city's control e.g. generator location, antenna and radion issues and a movement of the internal workings of the opertaion. The cost increases required to complete the project are only $2.5m and much of that is due to the increase in pricing on several items including structural steel and of course the cost of having a PLA on the job(labor).
I have said this before on many occassions that blame is not a solution to fixing or completeing what has been started. The Mayor's job is to move the city in a positive direction not sit still and blame the previous mayor for what they perceive as problems!
And finally to the guy who thinks the city paid too much for the property, it was aquired during an eminent domain proceeding after the city initiated foreclosure proceedings against the onwers at the time. The judge determined the cost at $1.6m and the City Council approved the purchase. If the lot next door is ever sold it can and will bring in additional monmies to offset that payment by at least half! Just some information you probably didn't know.

Anonymous said...

Didn't the council also want to build this building without jail cells and keep the old building open for that purpose? The same building that is the subject of the Courant story today outlining the unsafe conditions in the jail cells that the city fails to address?

Anonymous said...

If you believe what you read in any publication then you sir cannot be that bright an individual. Don Stacom thinks he is going to win a pulitzer prize by condemning the NBPD at every turn facility, operations and management. Why do you think the city is building a new facility? This is one of the reasons but more importantly why is the city held responsible for someone who takes their own life? How ridiculous a judicial system we have when the courts agree with families of those who engaged in the most cowardly act of suicide? I'm not defending the city by no means but my understanding is that the present building has too numerous problems to correct to make renovations feasible thus the rationale for a new facility.

Anonymous said...

What does the council have against cameras? First I read that they chose to put cameras in a duck pond while seniors were being victimized at a city garage, and now I read that they chose to ignore fixing the cameras in the jail cells, again instead choosing to put in cameras so someone can watch ducks taking a poop!

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