In a highly unusual move, the State Bond Commission blocked Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s plans Tuesday morning for a new, $70 million public health laboratory in Rocky Hill.
Democrats said they had not had enough time to analyze the state-of-the-art facility, which will allow testing for anthrax and various other bio-hazardous materials. Word started to leak out Monday night that the five Democratic members of the commission would oppose the plan, thus postponing the proposal.
While some legislators said the issue was over a lack of disclosure about the plans, insiders said the clash really involves a union dispute over whether union workers would build the new laboratory. The Rell administration was surprised when two Democratic state legislators – Sen. Paul R. Doyle of Wethersfield and state Rep. Tony Guerrera of Rocky Hill – showed up with a union representative, former state labor commissioner Shaun Cashman, at a one-hour meeting Monday to talk about the laboratory with the state public health commissioner, Dr. J. Robert Galvin.
After the vote, Rell told reporters that she was angry and frustrated by the process – saying the plans had been in the works for the past five years and were well known in Rocky Hill.
A group known as “Construction Workers For A Safe Environment” has been distributing a flier to residents in the area with the statement that the new lab “may cause serious or potential lethal diseases as a result of exposure by inhalation,” said Stan Einhorn, a Rocky Hill resident who found a flier that was left on his doorstep last week.
Einhorn, who moved to Rocky Hill about one year ago from Wethersfield, said everyone on his street received the flier.
“It’s not as bad as Plum Island, but there are contagious things there,” Einhorn said. “I definitely think it’s a bad idea. You wouldn’t want your backyard in a place like that. There’s a lot of potential problems.”
The vote Tuesday came in two portions, which is common at the bond commission.
Rell called for a roll call vote on the second portion, and each member gave an oral “yes” or “no.”
“On a tie vote, the motion fails,” Rell announced to the crowd in the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.
The new laboratory, which had been scheduled to be built near the state veterans home and across the street from Dinosaur State Park, would have replaced the current one at 10 Clinton Street in a congested area of downtown Hartford – within walking distance of the state Capitol, Bushnell Park and The Bushnell theatre.
With the controversy swirling in the air, the governor’s office sent out 24 pages of background to the bond commission members on the project on Monday.
With the weak economy, state officials expected that the laboratory could be built for $12 million less than expected. The lab would be built on 22 acres of state-owned land and have parking for 200 cars.
A letter, dated July 19, 2007, shows that Rocky Hill Town Manager Barbara Gilbert was informed more than two years ago about the details of the state’s plans.
“We are looking forward to our move to Rocky Hill, and we sincerely hope to be good neighbors and welcome members of your community,” state public health administrator Elise Kremer wrote to Gilbert in a one-page letter.
Rell publicly announced 12 days ago that the Bond Commission was expected to approve the lab that will test for viral, fungal, biological, and parasitic diseases, as well as checking for drinking water quality.
The Courant’s Don Stacom reports:
Public Health Commissioner Robert Galvin described the current lab on Clinton Street in Hartford as “antiquated,” and said its plumbing, heating and air conditioning systems are deficient. On hot days in the summer, staff members must put containers of ice on top of specimen coolers to ensure the samples are kept cold enough, he said.
“My big fear is that we’d have to shut the lab,” he said, which would mean sending most employees home and subcontracting lab operations to Yale University and private companies. “We’d be looking at something which verges on financial disaster.”
Galvin emphasized the lab has no experimental animals, and that it’s never had trouble containing organisms that it’s testing.
A construction contractor has offered a price that would cut $12 million off the overall cost, but the offer expires on April 15, Galvin said.
The plan hit trouble just a few minutes into Tuesday’s meeting of the Bond Commission. State Rep. Cameron Staples, D-New Haven, said Democratic lawmakers and Rocky Hill citizens didn’t get time to learn details about the project. He blamed Rell’s administration, which carefully controls the Bond Commission agendas and usually releases information only days before scheduled votes.
“Connecticut has a very extensive, transparent process that state agencies are required to go through to proceed with a development such as this one,” countered Robert Genuario, Rell’s budget director.
Genuario said a new lab is important to public safety, and that the Rocky Hill plan has been public for five years. It makes no sense to argue the location is too close to residents, he said, since the current lab is in the center of downtown Hartford.
Democratic Sen. Eileen Daily argued that if residents and legislators don’t understand the details, the bond commission should let the community “get up to speed” before voting.
“This was not done in secret,” Genuario responded. “The appropriate authorities in the town were made aware. To say ‘we found out last month’ rings a little false.’ “
Rell cautioned against delaying the decision because that would risk the $12 million in savings. A motion to table the matter failed on a 5-5 tie. Bonding for the project was divided into two votes, one for about $38.8 million and one for $30.6 million (another $6 million has already been spent). Both failed on identical 5-5 votes, with Rell grimacing noticeably after the first loss.
After the meeting, Rell acknowledged to reporters that she was “disappointed,” and said the vote jeopardizes “a $12 million savings for the taxpayers.” She said the administration has worked on the project for five years, and that “the first we heard of any problem was Friday when two Democratic legislators brought two town officials and a union representative” to a meeting with her staff. She said she didn’t know if the underlying concern was a dispute about whether the contractor hires union or non-union workers, saying “I’m not sure if this is a union-driven thing. The public needs to ask that question.”
At one point, she appeared to concede the lab project if Democrats won’t change their position.
“I’ve been looking to control bonding. If you want to cut $70 million in bonding today, so be it,” she said.
When a reporter asked if she was being petulant, Rell replied “Petulant? I’m angry. Nothing seems to get done. This is typical ‘not in my backyard.’
“This is not leadership on the part of the General Assembly. This is like the juvenile detention center – and ‘not in my backyard’ doesn’t cut it.”
“To use as an excuse that they don’t know (about the lab plan) is unfair.”
“If this is about union issues, then bring that up. Don’t sneak around (saying) ‘I’ll get all the ‘no’ votes lined up in advance.’ “
Staples insisted that the Rell administration typically holds back the agenda for the Bond Commission until just a few days before a vote, and then demands a decision on hundreds of millions of dollars of borrowing on short notice.