Author: Glenda Prentiss

NVCOG has a new page on its website devoted to the Connecticut Department of Transporation’s Route 8 Design/Build project that starts this summer and will go through 2024. NVCOG will make information on the project is it progresses available there.

The project will go from Exit 13 in Shelton to Exit 22 in Seymour and in addition to making it safer will bring that section of the roadway up to modern highway standards. Much of the roadway will be repaved and 11 bridges will have minor rehabilitation work done to them. CTDOT will also put in new lights, improve drainage and install the infrastructure needed when an incident management system (IMS) is installed at a later date. The IMS will warn motorists of issues on the highway.

A total of $77.3 million is being spent on the project, 80 % of which is coming from the federal government and the rest from the state.

The Central Naugatuck Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization (CNVMPO) is finalizing its new Metropolitan Traffic Plan, NVision50. This document will lay out a vision for the region’s transportation system in the future and steps to achieve the goals in the plan. A draft of the executive summary for the new MTP is now available for public comment.

The MTP was last updated in 2019 and staff have been working on the data collection, drafting the narrative, and completing the financial analysis for the new MTP. As additional chapters are completed, they will be released as drafts for public comment.

Please send comments to contactus@nvcogct.gov or call our offices at (203) 757-0535.

The CNVMPO includes Beacon Falls, Bethlehem, Bristol, Cheshire, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Oxford, Plymouth, Prospect, Southbury, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown, Wolcott and Woodbury. The region’s last MTP update was completed in 2019.

The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) is the host agency for the CNVMPO. The four NVCOG communities of Ansonia, Derby, Seymour and Shelton are in the Greater Bridgeport and Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization (GBVMPO). For information about the GBVMPO’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan, contact that organization at 203-366-5405.

The City of Waterbury has announced the availability of funds through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Grant applications will be available from the city’s Office of Community Development starting on Jan. 20 and must be submitted by March 3.

Funding for the CDBG program comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The program supports initiatives that help low- and moderate-income people, eliminate slums and blight, and address emergency needs that do not have another source of funding. The Community Development Office will offer virtual technical assistance workshops to agencies and individuals who are interested in applying for a CDBG grant or an Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) on Jan. 31 from 10 – 11 a.m. and Feb. 2 from 2 – 3 p.m. To register, use the following links.

• Jan. 31 Workshop: https://bit.ly/3vOGMTj
• Feb. 2 Workshop: https://bit.ly/3vKOoX7

A public hearing on the CDBG program will be held by the Citizen Advisory Committee on Feb. 16 at 5:30 p.m. in Veterans Memorial Hall, Waterbury City Hall, 235 Grand Street. City officials will review the applications during the winter and spring and decide which ones will be funded early in the summer.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation held a virtual public information session on the upcoming Route 8 Design/Build project on Jan. 12 so that people could learn more about what is planned before work starts later this year. The project will go from exit 13 in Shelton to exit 22 in Seymour. Plans call for repaving the roadway, installing new lighting and new drainage. Once finished, that section of Route 8 will meet modern highway standards. The project is expected to be done by the end of 2024.

About 40 people attended the information session. A presentation from DOT project managers was followed by questions from attendees. Many of those who asked questions wanted to know if lighting along the road would be better after the project is done. Others asked about planned improvements to entrance ramps to the highway.

The project is expected to cost $77.3 million, and the federal government will contribute 80 percent of the cost, with the state paying for the rest.

The Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments (MetroCOG) has updated its Title VI Program & Limited English Proficiency Plan, which ensures that the services MetroCOG and the Greater Bridgeport and Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization (GBVMPO) provide are not discriminatory and the opportunity for full and fair participation is offered to the community. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires that agencies which receive federal financial assistance have non-discrimination plans in place. MetroCOG is the host agency of the GBVMPO, which includes the NVCOG communities of Ansonia, Derby, Seymour and Shelton.

The updated plan also examines the need for services and materials for people who do not speak English as their primary language and who have a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand English.

The public can submit written comments on the updated plan from Jan. 13 to Feb. 27. Those comments must be clearly legible, submitted on 8½” by 11″ paper and include the person’s name and address. Anyone who wants to comment may submit them in writing to Matt Fulda, Executive Director, MetroCOG, mfulda@ctmetro.org or Rick Dunne, Executive Director, NVCOG, contactus@nvcogct.gov. Written comments must be received before 10 a.m. on February 27. A public information meeting will be held on Feb. 8 at 5:00 p.m. in the conference room of the Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments, 1000 Lafayette Boulevard, Suite 925, Bridgeport, CT 06604.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs, activities and services that receive federal financial assistance.

Connecticut is in a waste crisis. Landfills and incinerators in the state are nearing the ends of their life cycles, but even though Connecticut is running out of capacity to handle its garbage we are producing more waste than ever.  This means municipalities must ship more of their trash out of state, which drives up disposal costs and taxpayers must foot the bill.

NVCOG has produced a story map that explains how Connecticut got into this situation and how we can get out of it. The story map explores proven, cost-effective strategies like unit-based pricing, separating food scraps from regular garbage so it can be made into renewable energy and other ideas. This is part of NVCOG’S effort to find and implement cost-effective solutions with state and local partners, businesses, and residents.

And don’t miss our new waste management page. Here, we talk about NVCOG’s efforts with sustainable material management, household hazardous waste and how we are exploring the idea of how a regional waste authority could solve some challenges the region faces with garbage disposal.

Energize CT is offering grants of as much as $50,000 to non-profit, community-based organizations and municipalities to familiarize residents and businesses with the energy efficiency programs that are available in Connecticut.

Reaching people and small businesses in distressed cities and towns, low-income households and people with limited proficiency in English is a priority for this grant program. The deadline to apply for a grant is March 3 and Energize CT will hold a webinar on Jan. 24 at noon and 7 p.m. where people interested in applying can learn more.

What is now the town of Southbury was first settled in 1673 when a group of colonists from Stratford paddled up the Housatonic River to start a new settlement. To celebrate this history, the town has scheduled a series of events during the year.

Those events kick off on Jan. 14 with a concert at the Southbury Library. Up next is the Snow and Ice Festival and a restaurant week Feb. 4-11. Some of the events will focus on the kind of community that Southbury has become but others will be about its history. A talk in February asks the question “Were There Slaves in Southbury?” and presentations in March and April will be about the Irish community in Southbury.

For information about the 350 Anniversary events, contact committee co-chair Kevin Bielmeier at (203) 262-0683 or ecodevdirector@southbury-ct.gov.

The Town of Bethlehem has written a new affordable housing plan, which state law requires that cities and towns do. The draft plan takes a close look at the small, rural town’s housing stock and identifies strategies to developing more diverse, affordable options but also some of the challenges. About two percent of the homes in Bethlehem meet the statutory definition of affordable and the plan recognizes that the town needs more.

In the United States, if a household pays more than 30 % of its gross income on housing, it is considered cost-burdened and may not be able to afford transportation, food, clothing, medical care and other necessities. From reading the report, it seems that quite a few of Bethlehem’s residents face this difficult situation. One of the report’s findings is that 21 percent of the single-family homeowners in Bethlehem have mortgage costs and taxes that exceed 30 percent of their income.  Bethlehem has 159 households that rent their home, and 59 percent of them pay more than 30 percent of their income in rent.

The affordable housing plan identifies some potential strategies that are in line with the preponderance of single-family homes and lack of municipal services in Bethlehem. Those include focusing on affordable homeownership, maintaining and rehabilitating existing housing, and building accessory dwelling units.

Some of the challenges to increasing how much affordable housing there is in Bethlehem are also identified in the plan. The town surveyed residents and found that 45 % of the respondents supported having more affordable housing in town while 40 % opposed it. When asked if a moderate increase in how many apartments, duplexes or triplexes are in town would hurt or help Bethlehem, 57.8 % of the respondents said that it would negatively impact the community. A similar number said that increasing the overall number of housing units would also negatively impact the community.

The town has posted the plan on its website so that residents can review it and may hold a hearing to take comments. Bethlehem is a member of the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments.