A draft of the Hazard Mitigation Plan Update for the former CCRPA communities (Berlin, Bristol, Burlington, New Britain, Plainville, Plymouth, and Southington) has been posted for public review and comment at http://www.crcog.org/transportation/ccmpo.html. Please forward any comments to Timothy Malone, Principal Planner at CRCOG at tmalone@crcog.org. Comments will be accepted through, at a minimum, December 3, 2015.
Question:
The RFP states that “the greenway trail in Watertown is approximately 2.36 miles in length and generally follows an established trail located between Route 8 and the existing railroad on property entirely controlled by the State Department of Transportation.” However, town parcel maps indicate that the trail appears to be located on private property.
Answer:
To clarify, the northern section appear to be owned by Envirite; but the ownership of the southern end will be verified by the Project Team, not the consultant engineer, during the design process.
The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) is seeking professional engineering services to perform a multi-task engineering and planning study to assess the feasibility of implementing alternative transportation modes within the Route 8 and Waterbury branch rail line corridors. This RFQ is being issued to solicit responses from qualified and experienced engineering firms for completing the study. The NVCOG will follow a Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) process for selecting the preferred Consultant(s). Responses to this RFQ are due to the NVCOG no later than 4:00 pm on Monday, November 30, 2015.
The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG), in partnership with the Naugatuck River Greenway (NRG) Steering Committee and UConn, is conducting an Economic Impact Study of the NRG. The study requires the collection of trail user information on open sections of the NRG and other area multiuse trails (the Sue Grossman Trail in Torrington, and the Middlebury Greenway) in order to gain a better understanding of how area trails are being used. We will be surveying trail users over the next several weeks, and are counting on volunteers to help conduct the surveys…we need your help!
Groups of volunteers will be asked to oversee the completion of short surveys by trail users during scheduled two-hour collection periods at trailheads. They will also be directing users to a longer online survey, and handing out postcards with more information. Please sign up for all times that you are available to help. Additional dates will be added as needed.
The event is open and free of charge for residents of Beacon Falls, Bethlehem, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Oxford, Southbury, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown and Woodbury. For more information, please visit our Household Hazardous Waste page here.
O’Sullivan’s Island is a peninsula at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers, located south of Derby’s downtown commercial district. While vehicles and trains pass nearby, the site offers a welcome moment of quiet among trees along the waterfront. Enveloped by structure, water, and sky, O’Sullivan’s Island is one of the most interesting and naturally beautiful pieces of land in the lower Naugatuck Valley. It is also one of the most challenging brownfield locations NVCOG has had the opportunity to improve. Over the last decade, NVCOG’s Environmental Planner Arthur Bogen and Executive Director Rick Dunne have been significant players in the orchestration of funding contributions and work completed by the City of Derby and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. O’Sullivan’s Island Recreation Park opened to the public for the first time in over twenty years in 2009 and in 2013 the City of Derby completed its portion of the Naugatuck River Greenway trail that runs across the site’s northern edge.
Project Status: The fishing pier is in the design and engineering phase. While the grassy portion of the park is closed to the public due to continuing environmental assessment, the Naugatuck River Greenway trail is open as is the nearby boat launch.
In the coming years, NVCOG, the City of Derby, and our partners will continue making O’Sullivan’s Island safer, cleaner, and more accessible for all who enjoy fishing, walking, biking, boating, and spending time in this singular place at the union of two rivers.
The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s (DECD) Office of Brownfield Remediation and Development (OBRD) has released the 2015-2016 calendar year schedule of competitive funding. Funding available for Round 8 of the Municipal Grant Program will be announced late in September – applications are due November 9th. The next rolling submission deadline for the Targeted Brownfield Development Loan is October 1st. All application materials, Notices of Funding Availability, Ranking & Review Grids, and program eligibility guidelines are available at www.ctbrownfields.gov. For more information, reach out to Arthur Bogen at abogen@nvcogct.org and our most recent addition to the NVCOG planning team, Max D. Tanguay-Colucci at mcolucci@nvcogct.org.
