Senator William H. Nickerson (R-Greenwich) announced today his support for two items which Governor Rell has placed on the Agenda for the State Bond Commission meeting on Friday August 18th.  Senator Nickerson is a member of the Bond Commission and serves as Ranking Member of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.

The Governor has included on the agenda $459 million for the Department of Transportation as a step towards financing the purchase of up to 300 rail cars for the Metro North line.  This is needed to finalize the contract awarded last month by the DOT to Kawasaki Rail Cars for the design and construction of up to 380 self-propelled rail cars.  The first 50 cars will be delivered in 2009.  The bond allocation will also be used towards the construction of the new all-weather rail maintenance facility in New Haven.

Nickerson said, “Through Governor Rell’s initiative we were able to break the stalemate on transportation and make a major step towards improving rail transportation in our area by replacing all the 342 aging Metro North rail cars.  This is the most important single transportation initiative in a generation.  The glut on I-95 and the Merritt Parkway is unsustainable and purchase of new rail cars is a key ingredient in order to improve the public transit option.  We must move as rapidly as possible to bring these new cars on line.”

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            Nickerson also supports a $500,000 grant to the Connecticut Historical Society for the renovation of the Society’s museum in Hartford. 

            Nickerson said, “Preserving our past is an important part of who we are in Connecticut.  Our part in America’s history and our New England heritage is something we should be very proud of.  In our ever changing world it is important to know, understand and appreciate our historical roots.  The Historical Society plays an outstanding role in this in making available to the public their collection of 3.5 million objects, including paintings, textiles, books, manuscripts and tools.”

            The $500,000 grant will go towards funding a $2.5 million capital project to provide adequate temperature and humidity controls to preserve the collection at the museum.  Additional support comes from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts.  The museum, located at 1 Elizabeth Street in Hartford, is a 63,000 square foot government facility currently served by a network of HVAC systems dating back to the 1950’s.

            The State’s commitment to encouraging historic preservation was further advanced earlier this year by the passage of Senate Bill 539 “An Act Concerning Tax Credits for Rehabilitating Historic Structures” which passed the General Assembly earlier this year with Senator Nickerson’s support.  This will stimulate investments in re-using historic structures.

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