Residents Again Appeal to Officials on Proposed Allen Street Flood Control Project
Dear Public Officials, Local Dignitaries and Influencers,
We have re-launched our yard sign campaign. We are hoping to take our protests directly to the Mayor’s local public appearances hoping to see some real results with the stalled Allen St. Project. We have appeared and presented our 3 minute snippets to the city council and the public works board a total of 12 times thus far starting in 9/23. We have drafted and distributed many narratives detailing our due diligence with supporting documentation. WVIT, NBP, WFSB and the Herald have all featured our efforts.
We will be sampling/testing by a reputable lab, the flooding water this summer determining the possible existence of human waste from the compromised storm-sewer system. We are waiting for our next FOI documentation from the city regarding relevant communications between city officials and Cardinal Engineering, the firm tasked with completing the engineering plan for the Allen St. Project. With more to come…
We are told the engineering plans are near completion with a new cost factor of $14.4M. We are waiting (2 months) for the final word from the Finance Department regarding the status of $4M from Resolution #36236, unanimously voted for by the last city council in 9/23 and approved by and signed by Erin Stewart. This money was supposedly moved from the General Fund (with no impact on the General Fund Guidelines) to the Public Works Account. Or this could have been an election year tactic employed by Erin Stewart. We are demanding a status update. Did Mayor Stewart redirect this money to another favored project? Stewart has no real oversight so she makes it up along the way…Majority Leader John McNamara has petitioned Stewart’s administration for an update.
Some of you have been proactive with the Allen St. Project. Some have mentioned flooding and neighborhood concerns with no real emphasis on the Allen St. Project which has been ignored, neglected and mismanaged for 31+ years, especially since 2013 when the Erin Stewart reign began. Funding is the key missing component at this time. For example, $56M came in from the ARPA Infrastructure Funds which Erin Stewart allocated for other higher profile projects. Not 1 Dollar for the Allen St. Project. According to Erin, “The Allen St. Project is our most pressing need!”. Unacceptable. We need your funding assistance now!
There are many storm-sewer challenges in New Britain none greater than the Allen St. Project. The Cause is undeniable…The Effects will be catastrophic if the flooding is allowed to continue.
Thank you.
Frank and Sharon Chase
24 Roxbury Road
New Britain, CT 06053
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