Home Care In Derby, CT

MILFORD, Conn., Dec. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Splash Car Wash, headquartered in Milford, Connecticut, today announced the opening of the chain's 61^st car wash, an express site located in Derby, Connecticut. This marks Splash's 38^th express wash and features a 130-foot tunnel outfitted with 19 self-service vacuums. The project was overseen and completed by Glen Sheeley, Splash's Director of Development and Construction.

Splash continues construction on eight additional greenfield washes, two of which are expected to open by year end – one in Shelburne, Vermont and the other Randolph, Massachusetts. During 2023, Splash will have opened seven new express washes, with another three existing sites having been completely refurbished and rebuilt. The remaining six new developments are all located in New York with expected completion dates between late spring and mid-summer 2024. Another five sites are in various stages of entitlement or permitting and should be under construction in the next three months.

"We are excited to see the growth at Splash continue. As we develop more sites within the Northeast region, we know we're bringing more convenience and an unmatched customer experience to our subscription members, while simultaneously providing more opportunities for growth to our team members", stated Mark Curtis, CEO and co-founder of Splash. Splash currently employs over 1,200 employees and has been named Top Workplace for the past nine years.

ABOUT SPLASH CAR WASH, INC

Splash Car Wash was started in 1981 by Mark Curtis and Chris Fisher with a single location in Greenwich, Connecticut. Since that time, Curtis & Fisher, along with their experienced team and partners, have developed over 80 locations, and currently operate carwash tunnels in Connecticut, Vermont, and New York. Many sites include detailing operations, eight locations provide oil change services, and two locations operate laundromats.

Splash has been named "Best Carwash" by numerous publications over 40 times and has been recognized as a "Top Workplace in Connecticut" for the past several years by Hearst Publications. Four General Managers employed by Splash have been recognized as "Most Valuable Carwasher" by Professional Carwash & Detailing Magazine and Auto Laundry News. Splash has been awarded the US Chambers of Commerce prestigious "Blue Chip Enterprise Award" and has been inducted into the Connecticut Business Hall of Fame.

ABOUT PALLADIN CONSUMER RETAIL PARTNERS (PCRP)

Palladin Consumer Retail Partners ("PCRP" or "Palladin") is a Boston-based private investment firm, founded in 1998, that focuses primarily on the retail and consumer products sectors in North America and Europe. Our team has a strong investment and operating track record; the Principals of PCRP have invested in, financed, or managed over 100 public and private retail and consumer products companies. We pride ourselves on working closely with management teams to create value through strategic and operational initiatives. PCRP strives to provide its portfolio companies with the advantages of a strategic partner and the operating flexibility and incentives of a financial investor. Current and former investments include M@C Discount , Southeast Mechanical, Tailwind Concessions, Leapfrog Brands, Decowraps, PB Metro, Splash Car Wash, KT Tape, Nic+Zoe, InMotion Entertainment, J. McLaughlin, Things Remembered, Restoration Hardware, Spencer Gifts, Jamba Juice, Worldlynx, Multi-Flow, and Kwik-Tek

CONTACT:

Mark Curtis[email protected]203-324-5400 ext. 7011

Patricia Donnelly[email protected]617-585-3800

SOURCE Palladin Consumer Retail Partners, LLC

DERBY — Gov. Ned Lamont was on hand Thursday (Nov. 16) to officially open a new fuel cell facility on Roosevelt Drive.

A fuel cell ?“uses the chemical energy of hydrogen or other fuels to cleanly and efficiently produce electricity,” according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Derby’s new fuel cell converts natural gas into electricity, according to a post on the CBIA website.

The new power generator on Roosevelt Drive (state Route 34) will produce enough juice to power 10,000 homes, according to WSHU public radio. The electricity produced by the 14-megawatt station is purchased by Eversource and United Illuminating. The power produced goes out into the grid. It’s not Derby-exclusive.

The Roosevelt Drive fuel cell is being leased by FuelCell Energy, Inc., based in Danbury. Its components were made in Torrington. Another fuel cell is under construction on Coon Hollow Road, between the Derby Department of Public Works and the city’s dog park.

The Roosevelt Drive facility is now the second largest fuel cell in the state. The largest is in Bridgeport.

Rich Dziekan, the outgoing Derby mayor, has touted the two fuel cell projects in the city as a way to bring much-needed non-residential tax revenue to the community.

The fuel cell is at 200 Roosevelt Drive on privately-owned land, according to documents filed with the state in 2019. FuelCell Energy Inc. is leasing the land from IDA Properties, Inc., part of IDA International, a Roosevelt Drive manufacturer next to the new fuel cell.

Fuel cells are considered a ?“class 1” renewable energy source under state statute. That puts them with wind power projects — ?“clean energy” producers.

The following was taken from a FuelCell Energy Inc. press release on the new facility:

How It Works

Fuel cells electrochemically combine fuel and air to create power without combustion. Other energy generation processes combust methane, emitting nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulfur oxide (SOx), and particulate matter emissions, which can lead to smog, acid rain, and respiratory issues. The electrochemical reaction in fuel cells is virtually free of these harmful emissions.

FuelCell Energy’s platforms help utilities and independent power producers eliminate or reduce emissions while strengthening grid reliability. The fuel cell power plant’s compact design, quiet operation, and clean emissions profile make it easy to site in populated areas.

DERBY — The recent conversion of parts of Elizabeth and Minerva streets from two-way to one-way is permanent and was something that had been discussed for more than a decade.

The Valley Indy reached out to Rick Dunne, the Derby native and executive director of the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, after people on Facebook were asking about Elizabeth and Minerva streets: specifically whether the conversion was temporary.

?“It’s permanent. It’s the lower block of Elizabeth and the lower block of Minerva, along with a leg of Third Street that connects to Roosevelt Drive (Route 34),” Dunne said.

* Elizabeth Street is now one-way road heading south (toward Route 34) from Third Street.

* Minerva Street is now one-way north (heading away from Route 34) up to Third Street.

* A small portion of Third Street that connects to Route 34 behind Giordano’s Heat & AC is now one-way.

The state is currently widening Route 34 (Main Street) downtown for $18.7 million. The job is roughly 50 percent done, and, assuming the weather cooperates, on track to be finished in the fall of 2024.

The widening project is happening to improve traffic flow on Route 34, a thoroughfare that runs from Interstate 84 in Newtown to Interstate 95 in New Haven.

Dunne said making one-way streets in opposite directions was done to cut down on motorists making left-hand turns against oncoming traffic — a move that contributes to traffic jams.

The idea is to improve on-street parking on both Elizabeth and Minerva.

On Oct. 24, Mayor Rich Dziekan used the city’s Code Red notification system to alert residents about the new traffic pattern downtown.

?“As part of the final design plans, Minerva St from Route 34 to 3rd Street will become one-way up from Route 34 and Elizabeth St. will become one-way down to Route 34 from 3rd Street. Signs will be posted to alert motorists to these permanent changes moving forward,” Dziekan said in a recorded message.

FYI, to sign up for Code Red announcement in Derby go to this website — https://public.coderedweb.com/… — or text DERBYALERT to 99411 to receive a direct link to the enrollment form on a mobile device.

Despite the mayor’s message, motorists are still getting used to the new pattern. On Friday, a motorist made a right-hand turn from Route 34 onto Elizabeth Street, even though a second vehicle was beeping at the driver and pointing to the new one-way sign. The sign, however, was tough to spot because it was partially obscured by the road work happening.

The Valley Indy has published stories mentioning the plans for traffic flow dating back to 2011. Facebook readers noted it’ll take time to get used to.

?“These plans and discussions were subject to, I think, three public design meetings and two public hearings. Ultimately there was no objection and the business community was in favor of the plans,” Dunne said.

Dunne said the long-term goal is to make traveling through Main Street easier. He pointed to traffic back-ups on Howe Avenue (Route 110) in Shelton as something the one-way changes in Derby are supposed to avoid. Route 110’s traffic issues are caused, in part, by motorists making left-hand turns onto the Derby-Shelton bridge.

?“The design rationale is that on Route 34 you want to eliminate as many left-hand turns against traffic as possible, and you especially want to eliminate unsignalized left-hand turns against traffic,” Dunne said.

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State officials and business leaders on Thursday lauded a pair of fuel cell power generation projects in Derby as an important component of Connecticut's energy future.

One of the projects is already producing 14 megawatts of electricity on a piece of land sandwiched between Roosevelt Drive and the Housatonic River. A second fuel cell generating unit will begin producing 2.8 megawatts of electricity within city's public works department complex on Coon Hollow Road later this year.

Both projects are owned and developed by Danbury-based FuelCell Energy. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said the state needs to take a multi-faceted approach to fulfilling its energy needs, and fuel cells are an important part of that.

"We're going through an energy transformation renaissance right now," Lamont said during a press conference at the new fuel cell park on Thursday. "I think about things in terms of reliability; I think about things in terms of affordability and try to brings those two things together that makes sense for our state. We're working that hard and right now; fuel cell is a big piece of what we've got to do."

One of the things that makes fuel cells attractive, he said, is that they can often be built next to electric utility substations.

Another attractive aspect of fuel cell generating facilities is that they can be developed in a much smaller window of time than traditional power plants. Jason Few, FuelCell Energy's chief executive officer, said that once a project has the necessary permits and an interconnection with the natural gas distribution network, the facilities take about a year to build.

"It allows us to put utility scale power exactly where it is needed," Few said. FuelCell Energy is selling the electricity produced at the two Derby facilities to The United Illuminating Co. and Eversource Energy under the terms of a pair of 20 year contracts, he said.

The two Derby fuel cell parks are the second and third utility scale facilities the company owns and operates in the state of Connecticut.

More for you

FuelCell Energy built a 14.9 megawatt fuel cell park in Bridgeport for Dominion Energy that opened in 2013. The company then reacquired the fuel cell park from Dominion for $30 million in 2019.

The power produced by the company's fuel cells is created through an electrochemical reaction involving natural gas. That electrochemical reaction is virtually free of emissions.

Generating one megawatt of electricity is enough to power 1,000 homes or businesses, according to Few. The fuel cell park on Roosevelt Avenue in Derby and the one in Bridgeport are the two largest such facilities in North America, he said.

Officials with United Illuminating and Eversource said they are supportive of efforts to build additional fuel cell parks in Connecticut. Pedro Azagra, chief executive officer for UI's corporate parent, Avangrid, said a fuel cell park can produced as much energy as a single off-shore wind turbine.

"We’re demonstrating the innovative, all-of-the-above approach our company is taking to help deliver a renewable energy future in Connecticut, by procuring the energy from this fuel cell," Azgara said.

Liam Needham, director of sales and marketing for Eversource's customer thermal solutions, said the company is supportive of additional fuel cell parks being built.

"We believe we can be a catalyst for a clean energy future," Needham said.

Few said the development of additional fuel cell parks in Connecticut will benefit from the billions of dollars available to the state through the Inflation Reduction Act and other federal programs.

SHELTON-DERBY, CT — As the holiday season begins to wind down, New Year's Eve is right around the corner.

While some might opt to head to New York City for a big celebration, others might be more tempted to stay close to home as they ring in 2024.

Here is a look at a few New Year's Eve events happening in Shelton, Derby or a nearby community:

In the United States, one of the most popular New Year’s Eve traditions is the dropping of the giant ball in New York City’s Times Square. Other U.S. cities have adopted iterations of the ball drop — the Chick Drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the giant Potato Drop in Boise, Idaho, for example.

The end of one year and beginning of another is often celebrated with the singing of “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scottish folk song whose title roughly translates to “days gone by,” according to Encyclopedia Britannica and History.com.

The history of New Year’s resolutions dates back 8,000 years to ancient Babylonians, who would make promises to return borrowed objects and pay outstanding debts at the beginning of the new year, in mid-March when they planted their crops.

According to legend, if they kept their word, pagan gods would grant them favor in the coming year. If they broke the promise, they would fall out of God’s favor, according to a history of New Year’s resolutions compiled by North Hampton Community College New Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Many secular New Year’s resolutions focus on imagining new, improved versions of ourselves.

The failure rate of New Year’s resolutions is about 80 percent, according to U.S. News & World Report. There are myriad reasons, but a big one is they’re made out of remorse — for gaining weight, for example — and aren’t accompanied by a shift in attitude and a plan to meet the stress and discomfort of changing a habit or condition.