A bunch of residents are poised to speak Monday night to the City Council about mega costs associated to upgrade the city’s cranky Water Pollution Control Authority system. In advance of that Mayor Joe Ganim issued a news release “encouraged by what he heard at the Water Council Meeting hosted by the United States Conference of Mayors.”
Translation: let’s get a handle on the spigot before it spews a mighty stink during the speaking portion of the council meeting. From Hizzoner.
Federal representatives present at the Council Meeting explained that the existing American Relief Bill provides funding opportunities that are a probable means for the City of Bridgeport to seek funding support. In addition, the current “American Jobs Plan” includes legislation that would provide funding opportunities specifically to improve infrastructure, such as Bridgeport’s Water Treatment Plant. The bill has been cited to include “quality of life infrastructure” for cities and towns across the country to promote residential assets.
The estimated $395 million WPCA infrastructure improvement project at the West End Wastewater Treatment Plant is the single largest bonding project that the City Council has approved in the history of Bridgeport. The improvements will reduce the high levels of nitrogen discharged into Long Island Sound, Johnson Creek, and other waterways. In addition, upgrades and design improvements of the West End Wastewater Treatment Plant will increase capacity from 80 million gallons per day to 200 million gallons per day, drastically reducing the number of bypass events and combined sewer overflows each year due to heavy rainfall. These upgrades will also make it possible for the City of Bridgeport to satisfy CT DEEP requirements and ensure continuous operation of the plant while improving sustainability.
Mayor Ganim stated, “This WPCA project will provide a much-needed upgrade for our city infrastructure, it will also result in immediate jobs, and residents will experience better quality of our waters and environment. While there are many benefits to this project moving forward, we are seeking every avenue to ensure that the cost does not put an undue burden on ratepayers.”
Let’s paint the whole picture.
The City Council just approved a huge bond package. — $395M!
Federal dollars plus a proposed increase in P.I.L.O.T funding should mean beaucoup bucks for Bridgeport’s drainage needs. The Mayor supports it.
City, state and Federal dollars – what could go wrong?
Are we Shovel Ready?
In politics, a shovel ready construction project (usually larger-scale infrastructure) is where planning and engineering is advanced enough that with sufficient funding, construction can begin within a very short time.
Wait until the shit hits the fan with this money, it’s going to be a real shity deal. In Bridgeport you pay to play so watch who gets those contracts. Let’s see how many black, Hispanic and women get contracts some of the estimated $395 million WPCA infrastructure improvement project. Just wait and see how much shit will fly.
Jim: Indeed, we ARE “shovel-ready”… Per usual, any sort of major infrastructure project in (modern) Bridgeport is associated with a downhill flood of hip-wader-high BS that is associated with “fine print”/unspoken aspects of the project that spell every imaginable sort of $harm$ — financial, environmental, and social for Bridgeport/Bridgeport residents that must be “shoveled” by the residents of Bridgeport in order to get a glimpse of the “realities” of the project (just think Route 25-8…).
Below, we have an account of the project that begs us to “read between the lines” for a glimpse of the hidden agenda behind the project:
“…The estimated $395 WPCA infrastructure improvement project at the West End Wastewater Treatment Plant is the single-largest bonding project that the City Council has approved in the history of Bridgeport. The improvements will reduce the high levels of nitrogen discharged into Long Island Sound, Johnson Creek, and other waterways. In addition, upgrades and design improvements of the West End Wastewater Treatment Plant will increase capacity from 80 million gallons per day to 200 million gallons per day, drastically reducing the number of bypass events and combined sewer overflows each year due to heavy rainfall. These upgrades will also make it possible for the City of Bridgeport to satisfy CT DEEP requirements and ensure continuous operation of the plant while improving sustainability….”
Well; first off: Why only mention of the West End Plant improvements? What about the decades-long suffering of the East Enders from that plant’s 70 years of insufficiency/obsolescence? And, most glaringly: Why do we want to increase the sewage-volume capacity of the West End Plant by 2.5X?! (Assuming that, with the separation of sewage from non-sewage wastewater, the plant will only be handling sewage…) We mustn’t forget about the stealthy border-development — residential and commercial — going on in Trumbull (as they continue to seek financial and political advantage at the expense of Bridgeport), as well as the the on-going, back-room discussions to connect Monroe and Newtown to a “regional” sewage system (a la Senator Moore’s approval/efforts) — which will divert yet more tax-base away from Bridgeport, even while it taxes (no pun intended) our essential infrastructure and services as it brings flooding and traffic hazards to our neighborhoods (the plant improvements aren’t intended to capture/divert the enormous amount of natural precipitation run-off that will no longer be containable, naturally, after watershed is replaced by impervious structures/surfaces upstream from Bridgeport…)
So, Jim: This “regional” boondoggle is Bridgeport “shovel-ready”… And, even before we are gifted with the first shovel-full of effects on Bridgeport, the stink is becoming overwhelming… (Just think Route 25-8 Connector…)
Welcome to the party Joe.Didn’t some on the council last month, suggest waiting to see how much of the relief act could help pay for the plant’s improvements??.Back then we didn’t hear a word in support of the idea from, Joe.Now all of a sudden he comes out like it’s his idea??.Joe seems off his game the past few months,like he’s pre-occupied with other things.
Also like Ron mentioned,the thought of Joe getting all this relief money to spend worries me.It’s a chance for Bpt to maybe get some projects done that weren’t possible a year ago.Question is,how much of this money will Joe steer to his “friends”.This should worry every Bpt taxpayer.
Joey come lately?
Let’s approve a $695,000,000 bond issue and give millions in commissions to the bond counsel and then get Federal funding to pay off the bonds……….
The taxpayers and ratepayers get screwed and the cronies get richer