Allan Appel Photo
The chain link fencing this dangerous area is frequently breached, often by fishermen.
The long-delayed repair of buckled concrete and reclamation of an adjoining charming little corner of Quinnipiac River Park will be delayed a little longer.
That news emerged from last week’s City Plan Commission meeting.
By a unanimous vote, commissioners gave permission to the Acting City Engineer Larry Smith to delay putting out a bid on the work from this fall until next spring.
The scenic triangle where the promenade nears the Ferry Street Bridge.
That was because another even more pressing project, shoring up the ground floor of the Department of Public Works 34 Middletown building and repair garage, was in need of money.
Technically, the commissioners voted for a language change that enabled the engineering department to use $300,000, which had been set aside for “flood and erosion control” purposes— that is, repair of the Brewery Square seawall and adjoining area in Quinnipiac Review Park — to be used for capital purposes.
The vote results in no increase in the current capital budget.
“We need to put it off,” said Acting Engineer Smith at last Wednesday’s meeting.
“Can it wait?” asked City Plan Commission Chairman Ed Mattison.
Smith replied that in effect it has been a mess waiting to be addressed for at least seven or eight years, and a few more months won’t alter the situation or affect safety.
The money will be used for the more pressing work of making the basement and ground floor of the public works building secure. That’s where trucks and snow plows are repaired, City Plan Director Karyn Gilvarg reminded the commissioners.
Commissioner Kevin DiAdamo is the City Plan Commission’s representative on the city’s Capital Projects Committee which gives the thumbs up or down to each item in the capital budget.
“I had some concerns, but voted on the capital budget for it because of of safety concerns,” he said.
In a conversation after the meeting Smith explained his reasoning. He said $500,000 had been budgeted for the Brewery Square bulkhead and concrete repair. In the final plan review to put the project out for bidding, officials determined that they need more money, $800,000 in all, to do the job.
“So the plan was to wait for additional capital next year and start on July 1,” he said.
“That’s why we took $300,000 to give to public works,” he said. The price tag on that more pressing project is $600,000; public works has the balance, according to Smith.
As to the Brewery Square work, “we’ll review the plans, understand the budget [more fully] and put it out to bid in the early spring when the capital budget gets approved for 2014 to 2015,” Smith said.
Thank you for covering this story Allan.