Job Center now open in Montville
New London officials unhappy with loss of Shaw’s Cove office
A Connecticut Department of Labor American Job Center opened on Route 32 in Montville last week, consolidating offices that once existed in Norwich and New London.
The move came against the wishes of New London officials and local legislators who last year raised concerns about the new location’s shift away from a major population center and the possibility of impediments to residents without transportation.
The job center in New London, per a note on the door, closed its Shaw’s Cove Six location on March 23. The new Montville center, which appears to be partially under construction, is at 601 Norwich-New London Turnpike, in a portion of the former Beit Brothers supermarket.
“My position hasn’t changed,” said New London Mayor Michael Passero. “I think it was bad public policy involved in this decision.”
Passero said he found out about the possible move shortly after his election in 2016 and took his case and concerns about disenfranchising a segment of the population directly to labor department Commissioner Scott D. Jackson. But the procurement process was already under way, Passero said.
The job center opened in Montville on April 2 and is now one of just five comprehensive centers in the state. Twelve affiliate job centers remain, including centers in Danielson and Willimantic.
It remains unclear how much the state will save from the move though early estimates put the figure at about $77,000 in the first year. Cost of the renovation was also not immediately available.
The idea of consolidation started in 2015 as part of a cost-savings plan even as the state started to shutter its job center offices.
The state eventually received three bids for the new job center – the Shaw’s Cove location, the Montville site and another at Mariner’s Square in New London. The state signed a 10-year lease with the owners of the Montville location. Timothy Londregan and Henry Gebel are listed as the principals in the limited liability companies that own the building. Terms of the lease were not immediately available.
The centers are staffed through a partnership with the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board, which also had a hand in the procurement process. Carol LaBelle, the workforce investment board’s senior director of programs and special projects, said
“My position hasn’t changed. I think it was bad public policy involved in this decision.” MICHAEL PASSERO NEW LONDON MAYOR
funding was the biggest issue that led to consolidation. The Montville location, with easy access to a bus route, was chosen as a central location for the region.
The centers offer employment and unemployment services such as career counseling, re-employment workshops, resume writing assistance, specialized employment services for veterans and a career center with computers, internet service, phones and fax machines.
A business service specialist is on hand to meet with companies or organizations to explore programs to benefit their businesses, including recruitment services, tax credit programs, training grants and apprenticeship programs.
The job center is also staffed with an unemployment insurance benefits specialist to answer questions about unemployment claims and to assist with the online filing system.
David Brown, who visited the new Montville site for the first time on Monday to inquire about his unemployment benefits, said he was happy to see familiar faces inside.
He could see how the new location could be a hassle for some New Londoners.
“If you don’t have transportation you’re going to be in trouble,” Brown said. “Yes, it’s a little more inconvenient. But you’ve got to take care of your own business. You’ve got to put in the legwork.”
Brown said he lived around the corner from the old location and would stop in occasionally but admitted most of the work could be done by phone anyway.
DOL Commissioner Jackson, in a statement, said the new job center “offers a wide variety of employment services, convenient parking, easy access by car or bus, conference rooms for workshops and recruitment events, and a full-service career center.”
“We invite the public to come visit us and our workforce partners at this new location in eastern Connecticut and see how we can help with your workforce needs,” he said.