FINANCIAL BUSINESS REQUEST (FBR)
Motion/Request:
title
MOTION to authorize the Permanent Municipal Building Committee (PMBC) to set the bid rate for the Gales Ferry School and Juliet W. Long School roofing projects at $50.00 per square foot to account for inflation.
In addition, the Permanent Municipal Building Committee may, with Town Council approval, modify the scope of the “Various School Improvement Projects” to include the replacement of the roofs at the Central Office, Gales Ferry School, and Juliet W. Long School; installation of solar equipment at Gales Ferry School and Juliet W. Long School; upgrades to the building management systems at Gales Ferry School; and electrical and HVAC upgrades at Juliet W. Long School) to stay within the authorized amount $6,725,000, as approved by the townspeople at the February 22, 2022 town-wide referendum.
Also, the Town Council acknowledges that the Town of Ledyard is aware that the State of Connecticut notified the Board of Education that the State would only provide a reimbursement rate of 75% for the cost of the Gales Ferry School roof. This reduction in State grant reimbursement was based the State’s record that the Board of Education accepted the school in 2006, although the Gales Ferry School project was completed in 2001; therefore, the State believed that school did not meet the State’s the 20-year criteria for full reimbursement.
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Background:
Per the attached “Resolution Appropriating $6,725,000 For Various School Improvement Projects; and Authorizing the Issue of Bonds and Notes in the Same Amount to Finance Said Appropriation” The Permanent Municipal Building Committee shall be the School Building Committee for the project. The Town Council is authorized to determine the scope and particulars of the project. The Town Council may reduce or modify the scope of the project, and the entire appropriation may be spent on the project as so reduced or modified.
This motion would authorize the Permanent Municipal Building Committee (PMBC) to find savings in other areas of the School Projects authorized in the Bond Resolution noted above and attached to this LF to accommodate the increase costs of the Juliet W. Long School Roof and the Gales Ferry School Roof due to inflation costs; as well as the reduced grant reimbursement from the State for the Gales Ferry School.
Should the Permanent Municipal Building Committee (PMBC) find that they need to modify the scope of the school projects, such as eliminate a project, the PMBC would require Town Council approval.
Town-wide Referendum 2/22/2022: The Townspeople approved to Bond $6,725,000 for various school improvement projects, including replacement of the roofs at the Central Office, Gales Ferry School, and Juliet W. Long School; installation of solar equipment at Gales Ferry School and Juliet W. Long School. (See attached Bond Resolution Appropriating $6,275,000 for Various School Improvement Projects; and Authorizing the Issue of Bonds and Notes in the Same to Finance Said Appropriation).
In a letter dated September 2, 2022 the Board of Education indicated that the State has requested the Town Council take the following:
• Authorize the Project Funding be increased for the reroofing of the Gales Ferry School and Juliet W. Long School be increased from $35.000 per foot to $50.000
• Acknowledge that the town is aware that the State will only provide a reimbursement rate of 75%.
Because of inflation the State was requiring the Town Council to authorize increasing the bid cost from $35.00 per foot to $50.00 per foot.
In addition, because the Gales Ferry School was not 20 years old the reimbursement rate would be reduced by 20%. (see attached Superintendent of School letter dated 9/2/2022)
Department Comment/Recommendation:
(type text here)
Finance Director Comment/Recommendation:
Additional time is needed to review the information as presented by the Board of Education in the letter dated September 2, 2022.
Mayor Comment/Recommendation:
I support the adjustment to the project fund allocation targets for the roofs. Inflationary pressures continue to drive costs higher. Preference is to complete Central Office roof ASAP to see what competitive price we can get before moving to schools as we may be able to reassign unspent dollars from Central Office Roof project to school roofs / HVAC.
Meeting Action Detail:
Town Council Meeting 11/9/2022
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File #: |
22418 <https://ledyardct.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5814186&GUID=E2C7069F-CBA6-4209-A4C0-5F8D44613280> Version: 1 |
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Type: Financial Business Request (FBR) |
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Title: MOTION to authorize the Permanent Municipal Building Committee (PMBC) to set the bid rate for the Gales Ferry School and Juliet W. Long School roofing projects at $50.00 per square foot to account for inflation.
In addition, the Permanent Municipal Building Committee may, with Town Council approval, modify the scope of the “Various School Improvement Projects” to include the replacement of the roofs at the Central Office, Gales Ferry School, and Juliet W. Long School; installation of solar equipment at Gales Ferry School and Juliet W. Long School; upgrades to the building management systems at Gales Ferry School; and electrical and HVAC upgrades at Juliet W. Long School) to stay within the authorized amount $6,725,000, as approved by the townspeople at the February 22, 2022 town-wide referendum.
Also, the Town Council acknowledges that the Town of Ledyard is aware that the State of Connecticut notified the Board of Education that the State would only provide a reimbursement rate of 75% for the cost of the Gales Ferry School roof. This reduction in State grant reimbursement was based the State’s record that the Board of Education accepted the school in 2006, although the Gales Ferry School project was completed in 2001; therefore, the State believed that school did not meet the State’s the 20-year criteria for full reimbursement.
Mover: Ryan Seconder: Rodriguez
Action: Approved
Minute Text:
Discussion: Councilor Ryan stated this item has been on the Agenda for quite some time. He explained that the Finance Committee voted to forward this item to the Town Council for action to secure the State Grant funding; with the understanding that Ledyard was going to continue to pursue that the State correct the record pertaining to the age of the Gales Ferry School; and to receive the full grant reimbursement retro actively.
Councilor Ryan went on to explain that there was a discrepancy between the State’s record and Town’s record regarding the completion date of the Gales Ferry School. He stated because State’s record indicated that the school was not accepted until 2006 that it did not meet the 20-year lifecycle criteria to receive grant reimbursement based on the full cost of the roof project. However, he stated the Town’s record documented that the School construction was completed in 2001, and therefore, did meet the 20-year lifecycle criteria to receive reimbursement on the full cost of the project.
Mayor Allyn stated in speaking with Mr. Chuck Warrington from Colliers Project Leaders, who was doing the Project Closeout Audit Preparations work for the Ledyard Middle School and Gallup Hill School Renovate as New Projects, that Mr. Warrington provided some information regarding two bid summaries for recent school projects, one in Westport and one in Saugatuck. He stated one roof project came in at $26.00 per square foot and one roof project came in at $32.00 per square foot. He stated both Westport and Saugatuck were located in a more expensive market than Ledyard was, here in the southeastern part of the state. He stated although the bid summaries were about a month old that Ledyard’s costs should come in well under $50.00 per square foot.
Councilor Marshall questioned whether the $50.00 per square foot was an “up-to number”. Councilor Ryan replied “yes”. Councilor Marshall stated at $50.00 a square foot the cost would calculate out to $5,000 per square. He stated a few years ago the construction industry was charging between $400 - $500 per square and that they were making a lot of money. Councilor Ryan noted the townspeople approved $6,725,000 for the projects; therefore, he stated whether the roof cost was $50.00 or $26.00 per square foot that they could not spend more than the $6,725,000. He explained that the state has requested the town approve these resolutions to receive the grant reimbursement.
VOTE: 7 - 0 Approved and so declared
Action: Approved
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Finance Committee Meeting 11/2/2022
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Type: Financial Business Request (FBR) |
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Title: MOTION to authorize the Permanent Municipal Building Committee (PMBC) to set the bid rate for the Gales Ferry School and Juliet W. Long School roofing projects at $50.00 per square foot to account for inflation.
In addition, the Permanent Municipal Building Committee may, with Town Council approval, modify the scope of the “Various School Improvement Projects” to include the replacement of the roofs at the Central Office, Gales Ferry School, and Juliet W. Long School; installation of solar equipment at Gales Ferry School and Juliet W. Long School; upgrades to the building management systems at Gales Ferry School; and electrical and HVAC upgrades at Juliet W. Long School) to stay within the authorized amount $6,725,000, as approved by the townspeople at the February 22, 2022 town-wide referendum.
Also, the Town Council acknowledges that the Town of Ledyard is aware that the State of Connecticut notified the Board of Education that the State would only provide a reimbursement rate of 75% for the cost of the Gales Ferry School roof. This reduction in State grant reimbursement was based the State’s record that the Board of Education accepted the school in 2006, although the Gales Ferry School project was completed in 2001; therefore, the State believed that school did not meet the State’s the 20-year criteria for full reimbursement.
Mover: Saums Seconder: Ryan
Action: Recommend to Approve
Minute Text:
Moved by Councilor Saums, seconded by Councilor Ryan
Discussion: Councilor Saums stated the town has not received any responses from the State, noting that both the Town and Board of Education have asked the State to provide documentation confirming that they were requiring Ledyard to take these actions. However, he stated by delaying action was only hurting the Town, noting that they could lose millions of dollars in reimbursement from the State. He stated the only communication the Town has received from the State was to ask for more information, which the Town has provided. Therefore, he stated he did not see any point in delaying any further, noting that they have done everything they could, noting the Finance Director, Superintendent of Schools, Board of Education Director of Facilities and Grounds, the Board of Education Business Manager, and the Mayor have all been working to obtain confirmation that the State has requested the Town Council take these actions. He also noted that Town Councilors have been in contact with State Senator Cathy Osten to discuss this matter.
Councilor Ryan addressed the discrepancy between the State’s record which indicated that the Gales Ferry School did not meet the 20-year criteria to receive grant reimbursement based on the full cost of the roof project; and the town’s record that the School construction was completed in 2001 and did meet the 20-year lifecycle criteria to receive reimbursement on the full cost of the project. Therefore, he questioned if the Town Council voted to only receive 75% reimbursement for the project whether they would have any recourse to revisit this with the State to obtain the full amount.
Councilor Saums stated the Town planned to go after the fact to the State through Legislative Representation to provide the documentation to prove that the Gales Ferry School met the 20-year lifecycle criteria to receive grant reimbursement on the full cost of the roof project. He stated the school was completed twenty years ago noting that Certificate of Occupancy was dated August 22, 2001 and the school was in-use for the 2001/2002 school year. Therefore, he explained that they would they need a Special Act of the State Legislature to change the reimbursement amount to 100%.
Superintendent of Schools Jason Hartling stated in reviewing the Board of Education’s archives he located a document that the Board of Education submitted to the Department of Commerce which indicated the Gales Ferry School Construction was completed in September, 2001. He stated Mr. Donaldson forwarded the document to the State. He went on to explain just because they authorize spending $50.00 per square foot did not mean that they had to spend that amount, noting that if the project came in under that they would be in a better position.
Mayor Allyn, III, noted in speaking with Mr. Chuck Warrington from Colliers Project Leaders, who was doing the Project Closeout Audit Preparation work for the Ledyard Middle School and Gallup Hill School Renovate as New Projects, that Mr. Warrington provided some information regarding two recent school projects. He stated one roof project came in at $20.22 per square foot and one roof project came in at $23.46 per square foot, noting the school was located in Westport, Connecticut. He stated Ledyard was in a less expensive area than Westport, and he noted to Superintendent Hartling’s point, that he believed that they would get the work done well under the $50.00 per square foot threshold.
Councilor Saums stated at no time during the February 22, 2022 town-wide referendum, did the townspeople or the Town ever vote on a per square foot dollar amount for the school roof projects. He stated they approved a total project cost in the amount of $6,725,000 which they believed would cover the costs of these projects.
Councilor Ryan questioned whether they had an idea of the per square foot dollar amount that the $6,725,000 would break down to. Councilor Saums stated they think the State was basing their $50.00 per square foot request on the earlier estimates. However, he stated Ledyard believed the townspeople have approved enough funding to pay for these school projects.
This motion was to satisfy the State’s requirements.
VOTE: 2- 0 Approved and so declared
Action: Recommend to Approve
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Town Council Meeting 10/26/2022
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Type: Financial Business Request (FBR) |
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Title: Discussion regarding the request to modify the cost of the Board of Education roof replacement projects, as requested in the Board of Education’s letter dated September 2, 2022. |
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Action: Remove from Agenda
The Town Council, by consensus, agreed to remove this item from their Agenda, noting that the Finance Committee could bring it back to the Town Council at a later time.
Action: Remove from Agenda
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Finance Committee Meeting 10/19/2022
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Type: Financial Business Request (FBR) |
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Title: Discussion regarding the request to modify the cost of the Board of Education roof replacement projects, as requested in the Board of Education’s letter dated September 2, 2022. |
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Action: No Action
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Finance Committee Meeting 10/5/2022
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Type: Financial Business Request (FBR) |
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Title: Discussion regarding the request to modify the cost of the Board of Education roof replacement projects, as requested in the Board of Education’s letter dated September 2, 2022. |
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Action: No Action
Discussion: Councilor Saums stated the Finance Committee had forwarded this Motion to the Town Council’s September 28, 2022 Meeting with the hope that they would have received the requested information from State before the Meeting. However, he stated because the State had not yet responded, the Town Council took no action.
Councilor Saums went on to state that he and Finance Director Matthew Bonin have continued to try to obtain written confirmation from the State noting that because the Office of School Construction Grants and Review Mr. Robert Ficeto has not responded to their e-mails that he reached out to State Senator Cathy Osten to see if she could look int the matter. He noted that Senator Osten had a meeting the State Department of Administrative Services (DAS) this week and that she would try to assist the town in getting someone from the State to respond to Ledyard’s questions as noted below:
Please confirm the following, or provide the original notice that was sent to the Ledyard Board of Education supporting the State’s request:
1. The Town needs to increase the estimated bid price to $50.00 per foot for both roofs due to inflation.
2. The Town will only receive reimbursement on only 75% of the total approved project cost for the Gales Ferry School because the State did not accept the projects (which were completed in 1999) until 2006, and therefore the State does not consider the roofs to be 20 years old.
Councilor Saums thanked Superintendent of Schools Jason Hartling and Board of Education Director of Facilities and Grounds Wayne Donaldson for attending tonight’s meeting and he asked whether they had any additional/updated information regarding the State’s request.
Superintendent of Schools Jason Hartling stated although he had not received any documentation from the State that in his on-going effort to deal with the timing of the Gales Ferry School Roof and in researching the files at the Board of Education Office and that he located a document the Board of Education submitted to the Department of Commerce which indicated the Gales Ferry School Construction was completed in September, 2001. He stated Mr. Donaldson forwarded the document to the State. He stated the Department of Commerce document may not be exactly what the State was looking for, that he hoped that it would bolster Ledyard’s case that the Gales Ferry School Construction Project was completed well before the 2006 date the State had on-file.
Board of Education Director of Facilities and Grounds Wayne Donaldson noted that he received a response from Mr. Ficeto on another subject matter, however, Mr. Ficeto has not responded to their questions regarding the School(s) Roof Projects. He stated that he would continue to reach-out to Mr. Ficeto.
Councilor Saums stated that he would also follow-up with Senator Osten regarding her meeting with Department of Administrative Services (DAS). He expressed concerns regarding the timing by not taking the required actions to move these roof projects forward; however, he also commented on the importance to act in the best interest of the residents; and that they were not doing something based on “Because the State said so”.
Action: No Action
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Town Council Meeting 9/28/2022
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Type: Financial Business Request (FBR) |
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Title: Discussion regarding the request to modify the cost of the Board of Education roof replacement projects, as requested in the Board of Education’s letter dated September 2, 2022. |
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Action: No Action
(see attached e-mail dated 9/28/2022 Saums to Senator Osten)
Refer back to Finance Committee Meeting 10/5/2022
Councilor Saums stated he and Finance Director Matthew Bonin have been trying to obtain written confirmation from the State regarding their requests for the Town Council to take these actions. He noted the Finance Committee forwarded this item to the Town Council with the caveat that if the requested information from the State was not received before tonight’s meeting that they would ask the Town Council not to act on the item. Therefore, he stated because they have not received the requested information from the State, that he would like to have the Finance Committee revisit this item at their October 5, 2022 with the hope that they would receive the requested information from the State by next week.
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Finance Cmt Meeting 9/21/2022
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Type: Financial Business Request (FBR) |
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Title: Discussion regarding the request to modify the cost of the Board of Education roof replacement projects, as requested in the Board of Education’s letter dated September 2, 2022. |
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Mover: Ryan |
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Seconder: Ingalls |
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Action: Recommend to Approve |
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Moved by Councilor Ryan, seconded by Councilor Ingalls
Discussion: Councilor Saums provided some background noting that based on the Board of Education’s letter dated September 2, 2022 the Finance Committee discussed a request for the Town Council take the following actions:
• Authorize the Project Funding be increased from $35.000 per square foot to $50.000 per square foot for the reroofing of the Gales Ferry School and Juliet W. Long School; and
• Acknowledge that the town is aware that the State will only provide a Grant reimbursement rate of 75% of the cost of the Gales Ferry School Roof Project.
Councilor Saums stated because more information was needed the Finance Committee did not act on the Board of Education’s request at their September 7, 2022 meeting. He stated during the past week that both he and Finance Director Matthew Bonin have reached out to Mr. Robert Ficeto at the State Board of Education to obtain the State’s documentation that was mandating the Town Council take a formal action to increase the bid amount for the roof projects from $38.00 to $50.000 per square foot; and that they acknowledge the State was now only going to provide grant funding for the Gales Ferry School roof in the amount of 75% of the cost, explaining that according to the State’s records, the Gales Ferry School Project was not accepted by the Board of Education until 2006; although the School was completed and opened to students in 1999. Therefore, he stated the grant funding would be reduced because the State’s records indicated that the roof did not meet the 20-year replacement lifecycle requirement for the normal grant reimbursement (65% of 100% of the project cost).
Councilor Saums went on to state at the February 22, 2022 Town-wide Referendum the townspeople approved to Bond $6,725,000 for various school improvement projects, which included the school(s) roof projects. Therefore, he stated the town believed that they would have enough money for the roof projects even with inflation.
Councilor Saums stated although a number of e-mails have been exchanged that little information by way of documentation from the State has been received. He went on to state in an e-mail received today (9/21/2022) Mr. Ficeto’s noted the Town Council’s action needed to include the following three things:
(1) The name of school where the project was taking place;
(2) The type of work (i.e.: oil tank replacement, roof replacement, asbestos abatement);
(3) The dollar amount.
Councilor Saums stated he continued to have concerns about the need to take these actions because the town has not seen any documentation from the State in which they have mandated the Town Council take additional actions. He suggested the Finance Committee forward this action to the Town Council pending confirmation from the State that they have requested the Legislative Body take additional actions. He stated if Ledyard has not received confirmation from the State before the Town Council’s September 28, 2022 meeting, then the Town Council would not act on the Motion.
Superintendent of Schools Jason Hartling stated Board of Education Director of Facilities and Grounds Wayne Donaldson was on vacation this week. He provided an overview of the preparation process to submit a proposed project to the State, noting that they meet with State Officials to discuss nuances and guidelines. He stated during a Pre-Submittal Conference Mr. Donaldson had with State Officials that the State shared the State’s Mandates. Therefore, he stated it was a verbal request, and therefore, they did not have the State’s required Mandates in writing. He stated that he fully supported trying to get something in writing from the State; and that he appreciated Mr. Bonin and Councilor Saums hard work to try to get documentation from the State.
Councilor Ryan requested clarification on the grant reimbursement for the school(s) roof projects.
Superintendent Hartling explained Ledyard’s State Grant Reimbursement Rate for the School Roof Projects was 65% of the total project cost, which was based on the State’s Needs Profile for Ledyard. However, he explained, what the State was now saying, was because the records show that the Ledyard Board of Education did not accept the Gales Ferry School Project until 2006; even though it was completed and opened to students in 1999; that Gales Ferry School roof did not meet the 20-year replacement lifecycle requirement for the normal 65% grant reimbursement of the full 100% project cost. Therefore, the grant reimbursement rate for the Gale Ferry School roof was now going to be 65% on 75% of the total project cost. He stated all the other roof projects would receive a grant reimbursement rate of 65% of the total 100% cost of the project.
Councilor Ryan expressed concern that the Ledyard Board of Education did not accept the Gales Ferry School Project until 2006 when it was completed in 1999. Mr. Hartling noted that he was not with Ledyard 20-years ago; therefore, he could not speak to what occurred. However, he stated the only rationale he could apply to the delay in the Board of Education formally accepting the completion of the Gales Ferry School project was that in 2006 Ledyard must have gone back to the State for another Grant Program and the State told them that they could not apply for another grant until they closed out the open project that was still on the State’s Books.
Councilor Ryan questioned the reason the State would require the Town to take a formal action stating that they would increase the bid amount from $34.00 to $50.00 per squire foot for the roof replacement projects. Mr. Hartling explained that the State does not want the School District to present a project, only to come back and say that they needed more money for the project. He noted the State was looking to make sure the project cost was a realistic, accurate placeholder number. He stated before the Board of Education could solicit bids for the School Roof Projects that they had to have the State’s approval.
Councilor Saums stated because the Gales Ferry School actually met the 20-year lifecycle replacement, noting that the roof has been leaking for some time and it needed to be replaced, that the thought was that they would move forward with the project and continue to work with our State Legislators to obtain the 65% grant reimbursement on the full 100% cost of the roof replacement project.
Councilor Ingalls addressed closing out the Gales Ferry School Project when it was completed in 1999 and she questioned whether the Board of Education needed to received something from the State before the Board of Education could vote to close the project. Mr. Hartling explained there were multiple stages in closing out a school construction project. He stated the marker the State used was for Boards of Education to vote to accept and close out the project. He noted as an example of the process that the Board of Education has voted to accept and close out the Middle School and Gallup Hill School(s) Consolidation/ Improvement Projects. He stated once the Ledyard Board of Education forwarded their action to the State, there were a number of steps the State would take to close out the project for grant reimbursement, which included many years of waiting for the State to conduct their Audit of the project.
Councilor Ingalls questioned how the town received the grant funding for the Gales Ferry School Project if the project was not closed out at the time it was completed in 1999. Mr. Hartling provided an overview of how construction projects receive the State Grant Funding. He explained that the State provides some grant funding as they worked through the construction process. However, he stated the State holds back a certain percentage of the grant funding until the State has completed their Audit of the project. He noted as an example for the Middle School and Gallup Hill School(s) Consolidation/Improvement Projects the State would be holding back 11% of the grant funding, noting that this funding would not be released to the Town until the State has completed their Project Audit. He concluded by stating that the date the State was using for Gales Ferry School Project Completion was the date the Board of Education accepted the project, which was in 2006.
The Finance Committee agreed to forward this action to the Town Council pending confirmation from the State that they have requested the Legislative Body take these actions.
VOTE: 3 - 0 Approved and so declared
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Finance Cmt Meeting 9/7/2022
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Type: Financial Business Request (FBR) |
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Title: Discussion regarding the request to modify the cost of the Board of Education roof replacement projects, as requested in the Board of Education’s letter dated September 2, 2022. |
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Councilor Saums stated in a letter dated September 2, 2022 the Board of Education indicated that the State has requested the Town Council take the following actions:
• Authorize the Project Funding for the reroofing of the Gales Ferry School and Juliet W. Long School be increased from $35.000 per foot to $50.000;
• Acknowledge that the town is aware that the State will only provide a reimbursement rate of 75%.
Councilor Saums noted the State has requested the above actions because of inflation. He stated based on the Board of Education’s letter the State was requiring the Town Council to authorize increasing the bid cost from $35.00 per foot to $50.00 per foot.
Councilor Saums went on to note that the Board of Education also indication that because the Gales Ferry School was not 20 years old the reimbursement rate would be reduced by 20%.
Councilor Saums stated when the Town Council received the Board of Education’s letter on September 6, 2022 he contacted Finance Director Matthew Bonin to discuss the State’s request. He stated Mr. Bonin provided the spreadsheet regarding the May, 2022 Bonding as attached.
It was noted at the town-side referendum held on February 22, 2022, the townspeople approved to Bond $6,725,000 for various school improvement projects, including replacement of the roofs at the Central Office, Gales Ferry School, and Juliet W. Long School; installation of solar equipment at Gales Ferry School and Juliet W. Long School “Resolution Appropriating $6,275,000 for Various School Improvement Projects; and Authorizing the Issue of Bonds and Notes in the Same to Finance Said Appropriation”.
Councilor Saums stated based on the spreadsheet the original request for the schools’ roof projects totaled $3.42 million, the new request was for $4.499 million. However, the Authorizing Resolution bonded $6.75 million. Therefore, it appeared that the town had enough money bonded for the reroofing project and he asked Board of Education Director of Grounds and Facilities Wayne Donaldson whether he could provide clarification regarding the State’s request.
Board of Education Director of Grounds and Facilities Wayne Donaldson explained the original Town Council Resolution had the lower amount. Therefore, he noted the State was requiring a new Resolution or a supplemental Resolution to provide additional funding for the projects; otherwise, the State would only act on the original amount in the Resolution for the Grant reimbursement.
Superintendent of Schools Jason Hartling explained that the State was looking for the Town Council to vote to approve the new bid requirements that the State was putting forward was acceptable. He stated whether that dollar amount was covered in the current bonding was something that Finance Director Matthew Bonin could answer. He stated this was a technical approval piece at the Town Council level to satisfy the State and their process.
Mr. Donaldson also noted that according to the State’s records, the Gales Ferry School roof was not accepted by the Board of Education until 2006. He stated although the School opened in 1999 that the State’s records indicate that the roof does not meet the 20-year limit. Therefore, he explained the State would reduce the reimbursement by 20%; and that the State was looking for the Town Council to acknowledge this 20% reduction in the grant reimbursement to the town.
Mr. Hartling stated although the Gales Ferry School Project was completed in 1999 that the Board of Education does not have anything to counter the State’s record that the Gales Ferry School project was not accepted until 2006. He stated the Gales Ferry School roof absolutely needed to be replaced, noting that it was failing and causing damage. He suggested the matter be addressed as follows:
• Town Council accept the State’s record.
• Town meet with their Legislators to request that they support the additional reimbursement to the town.
Councilor Saums stated the Gales Ferry roof that has been leaking for years and he agreed that it had to be replaced and that the town should go after the remaining funding through their Legislators. He stated more work was needed on this request and that they would continue this discussion at their September 21, 2022 meeting.
Mr. Hartling addressed the urgency for the State to approve these roof projects so that the Board of Education could solicit bids for the work. He noted the number of qualified bidders for all construction projects were limited. Therefore, he stated they would like to solicit bids as soon as possible for the upcoming summer construction season. Mayor Allyn, III addressed soliciting bids too early and he questioned the ability for contractors to hold their prices to the summer construction season. He stated that he was comfortable with the Finance Committee addressing their request at their September 21, 2022 meeting.
Finance Director Matthew Bonin questioned the origin of the Board of Education’s roof projects numbers that were provided in their September 2, 2022 letter. Mr. Donaldson stated he obtained a cost estimate in the amount of $35.00 per square foot was provided by the contractor who put the new roofs on the Town Hall and the Annex Building this summer. He stated in developing his numbers that he increased the dollar amount to $48.00 per square foot because he knew the Board of Education’s roof projects were going to be a year out.
Action: Continued Next Meeting; 09/21/2022 5:00 p.m.