May 19, 2011

LEGISLATORS: TECH PARK PLANS TO INCLUDE WATER

By Mike Savino, Chronicle Staff Writer

MANSFIELD — As both town and University of Connecticut officials look for future water sources, funding for a proposed technology park could help both sides reach a common solution.

State Rep. Gregory Haddad, D- Mansfield, and state Senate President Pro Tempore Donald Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, said an $ 18- million bonding package to get the UConn park started will likely include money for a water supply.

The two state legislators announced the bonding package in April and said it will help cover some of the costs needed to help get the park started.

Later state spending would also go to an initial research building with the hopes of attracting private investments in the future.

The state legislature is still working on plans for how that money will be spent, but Haddad said the package will include money for infrastructure, including a water system.

“It became clear that, like most developments in Mansfield, water is a limiting factor,” he said, adding discussions have indicated a system could cost upwards of $7 million.

Williams said the package will also include money to complete a road connecting the site, in the North Campus area, to Route 44 on other infrastructure needs.

Haddad said UConn officials have indicated private firms have been interested in coming to the area and partnering with the university, but a shortage of water has prevented any new buildings.

“That’s what makes a ( water) connection so critical,” he said.

UConn is currently in the process of updating its water supply plan, which it must do every five years under state law.

The university and Town of Mansfield are also both looking separately to find additional water sources for development in the area.

Haddad said he hopes the bonding package will encourage cooperation.

He said the funding is not intended to start the two projects over and would, instead, help pay for a solution based on the information obtained so far.

“No one wants to reinvent the wheel and that’s why we want to build on what’s been done so far,” Williams added.

Haddad said the funding would cover the cost of a connection to the “best water source,” but the location of that source should be a “local solution.”

The funding could go toward the cost of installing wellfields or connecting to Windham Water Works or the Connecticut Water Co.

Haddad said he wants to see more regional solutions in general on issues like water sources and hopes the presence of significant state funding would help encourage Mansfield and UConn to cooperate.

“I think the only smart thing to do is for UConn and the town to work on one project,” he said.

Mansfield Mayor Elizabeth “Betsy” Paterson said the town is “working on solving the water problem with UConn,” but she does not know how the current bonding proposal could affect Mansfield’s plans.

“It depends on what the wording is and how much money there is,” Paterson said.

State and town officials have said the technology park will help provide more jobs and boost the economy, and the park will follow models used elsewhere around the country, namely the Research Triangle in North Carolina.