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caption, page 7:
Signing
Brian Orenstein, Charter Oak Federal Credit Union CEO (seated, right), and James O'S Morton, CEO of the Y of Greater Hartford, sign the five-year pledge from Charter Oak for $50,000 for the Regional Community Y. Linda Lemmon photo.
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM --- Shovels for groundbreaking for the bridge to the new high tech park and the Regional YMCA may be raring to go, but several permits need to be granted before the shovels can go to work.
James O'S Morton, CEO of the Y of Greater Hartford, in accepting a five-year $50,000 pledge from the Charter Oak Federal Credit Union last week, said he hopes that the shovels can go into the ground on the 46,000-square foot facility this spring. But first the shovels need to go into the ground for the bridge from Kennedy Drive to the high tech park and the Y. And if that happens, he hopes to see the Regional Community Y open by the August 2015.
But some paperwork stands in the way of the shovels. Town Administrator Douglas M. Cutler said the town is waiting for a permit for flood management from the state Department of Transportation. He said he feels that permit is close to being granted, "within the next 30 days."
In the surveys done around the proposed bridge area, Native American artifacts were found on the western side of the proposed bridge, he said. The town is receiving permission from the state Historic Preservation Office to "leave them alone" and officials are waiting for the official permit for that from that agency.
In addition, the town is waiting for a permit granting access on an easement from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for the east side of the proposed bridge. The state owns the property on the east side of the proposed bridge, closest to Kennedy Drive, and Wheelabrator owns the westerly side of the bridge target area. The town is currently acquiring a right of way from Wheelabrator.
Some conditions apply including the town's promise to extend the trail from the Riverview Marketplace farmers market to the tech park. Cutler said the town intends to do that and to join it with a trails system that is slated for the high tech park.
Cutler said he believes the needed paperwork is very close to being in town hands soon.
Morton thanked all those involved in the project. "Our thanks. You've been right there with us, shoulder to shoulder," he said. He added, "We can't wait to make this a reality."
Putnam Mayor Anthony Falzarano said he would put the project "on my back and shoulders." He said, "We're the host community, but this is for the whole community." The Regional Community YMCA will serve the towns of Brooklyn, Eastford, Killingly, Plainfield, Pomfret, Putnam, Thompson and Woodstock.
Brian Orenstein, Charter Oak's CEO, said the Regional Community Y will help "the health and well being of the whole community." He added it was "exactly the type of project we were looking for when we were able to open the branch" in Putnam.
State Senator Donald E. Williams Jr. echoed other speakers, saying the project will benefit not only Putnam but the whole community. The Regional Y will raise the quality of life and thereby attract more businesses to the area. He thanked the Newell Hale family for their tenacity and foresight. "The Hales thought about the whole region, not just a pool," he said.
The total cost of the project, which will include a fitness center, two pools (competitive and therapeutic), a group exercise center, meeting space and a teen center, is $14.6 million.
On hand currently is $13.2 million from the Hale Foundation ($3 million), State of Connecticut ($3.75 million), Y of Greater Hartford ($4 million) and the community fund-raising, Building a Dream, ($2.4 million). The community fund-raising goal is $2.8 million.