The Tweed $$ Is Coming! The Tweed $$ Is Coming! (Most Likely)

It looks like East Haven will get that $1.5 million it was promised from the Tweed New Haven Regional Airport deal, brokered in March 2009 between Mayor April Capone and New Haven Mayor John DeStefano.

According to state Rep. James Albis (D-East Haven), the state Bond Commission is braced to approve a $4.25 million grant for the airport when it meets this Friday. East Haven's share is for the wetlands it sold to Tweed.

“I am very pleased that the state Bond Commission is expected to vote on this funding,” said Albis. “It’s an important step forward for East Haven and the region.”

Capone said the money will help eat away at the town deficit, cited at $5.19 million in the auditor's report released early this month. In the current budget, $2.4 million was put into the fund balance to pay off some of the deficit; and the mayor has proposed the same amount in her FY'12 budget.

“This bonding is essential to ensuring the success of the agreement that Mayor DeStefano and I worked so hard to negotiate," said Capone. "I am very grateful to Gov. Malloy for recognizing how important this funding is to East Haven. It has been a pleasure to work with a governor who understands the needs of our cities and towns.”

The bonding request was originally made in '09, but then-Gov. Jodi Rell, a Republican, shelved it. When Democrat Malloy was elected last November, he promised to move it forward.

The Tweed grant will go toward making capital improvements and buying surrounding land, such as in East Haven, needed as a buffer to adjacent residential property.