State Will Pay The Bill For Berlin High School Renovation Project Shortfall

It was a good day for the Town of Berlin as State Rep. Joe Aresimowicz announced at the Town Council meeting Tuesday night that both the House and Senate passed a legislative waiver awarding Berlin $19 million to complete the Berlin High School renovation project.

The project, which has started and is well into Phase I, came in about $15 million over the amount asked for at referendum by Town officials. Not only will the waiver cover the $15 million shortfall but it will allow a contingency fund.

"I was at the Capital last week but I wanted Joe to be able to announce it because he and Rep. Abercombie and Senator Terry Gerratana worked so hard for it," Berlin Mayor Adam Salina said. "It's a huge win for the town to get this state grant. The reality is we were short $15 million and this legislative waiver will give us $19 million. That doesn't mean we're going to spend all of that money but it means that we will not shortchange the taxpayers and residents of Berlin."

Aresimowicz said he was happy to get the bill passed.

"It was great," he said. "We had about a $15 million hole and we were able to get about $19 million an additional funding for the Berlin High project. It gives us a little operating contingency. This process has been going on for quite some time now so I'm glad that hopefully in 2016 we'll have a brand new high school." 

Salina didn't view the money as a bail out.

"This is a space waiver based on the original square footage of the high school building," Salina said. "The Berlin residents have been sending tax dollars to Hartford to fund projects all over the state for years so it's nice for some of those tax dollars to be coming back to our town."

Salina said the timing could not have been more crucial.

"We will bid this project out and start remediation this summer when students leave school," Salina said. "If we had lost this summer, we would have lost an entire year of construction because we can't do the remediation any other time than the summer."

While he doesn't want to think about it, Salina said the town would have had no options had the waiver not been voted through.

"We would have had no other choice but to go back to the public and ask for more money," he said. "That's why it is such a great feeling. This is a project that has been going on for seven years now. To be able to move forward with no more money from the taxpayers and perhaps even less money for the Town to spend, it's just a great day for Berlin."