Marcia Chambers Photo
First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove and Selectman Jack Ahern.
The Republican majority on the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) last night approved $88.2 million to bond the impressive makeover of the Walsh Intermediate School. It was a vote that came without unanimity because of Democratic concerns about oversight and accountability in what is the largest building project in the town’s history. Typically the RTM does not act without a recommendation from its committees. Last night it did.
In the end 17 Republican voted in favor, nine Democrats abstained and one voted no. In abstaining the Democrats voiced concern that the current five-member building commission, now officially deemed the school building committee under state education statutes, was not even complete. Two members have yet to be appointed; their identities are unknown. Questions were also raised about the ability of the commission to handle multiple building projects.
The RTM heard a full presentation of the Walsh plan from top school officials and a team of architects and engineers from DTC/Perkins Eastman in Stamford. They presented a slide show of what a transformed Walsh would look like and mean for kids and teachers alike. They also showed the hard and soft costs of the project, which is expected to be completed by 2019.
Starting Off On the Right Foot
Schools Superintendent Hamlet Hernandez, who earlier gave a presentation to the RTM, told those in the audience at Fire Headquarters, “As I listen to the discourse, I do not believe the $88.2 million is the question. The question is what is the process going forward?” He called Walsh “a community project,” not just a school project.
Hernandez suggested that “we can approve the $88.2 million and work collaboratively,” in ironing out the issues concerning the building commission. “There will be no expenditures for the next 30 days. We do want to start off on the right foot,” he observed.
Hernandez’s reaction came after Democratic Minority Leader Chris Sullivan (D‑6) (pictured)voiced concerns about the building commission’s role in overseeing the project. Sullivan offered an alternative before the final vote was taken.
He made a motion to strike section 10 of three-page single space resolution, which arrived with the first full Walsh financial outline at the town clerk’s office on Jan 4. The Board of Finance approved the resolution with one major change that night and recommended it be approved by the RTM. Then the two RTM committees met last week and voted to re-refer the topic until last night’s meeting.
To have considered the Hernandez idea and to try to obtain a unanimous Walsh vote was possible but required political guidance. But Ray Ingraham, Republican majority leader, said there was no reason to delay the vote.
His argument centered on the fact that people in the town knew of the Walsh project, which has been discussed for over a year before the BOE voted in December. He maintained the project had not been fast-tracked. But the funding projection for the $88.2 million project now before the RTM had only reached the town-RTM level last week.
Black Backs Off
At last week’s committee meeting Rep. Peter Black (R‑3), (pictured center) chair of the Ways and Means RTM committee, said, “Walsh is the single biggest appropriation I can recall. It is important we take our time…we might not act on this until our February meeting.” In doing so, he stepped back last week from what was a whirlwind schedule to gain RTM approval for the project. The RTM committees did not vote on the issue last week and had not voted as the RTM meeting began last night. Instead the issue went before the full body.
At the outset of last night’s RTM meeting, Black, a longtime member of the RTM, set the stage, telling the audience that other RTM members indicated to him they wanted a vote. He later told the RTM that while he had specific questions he had subsequently received e‑mails answering his questions. He did not say from whom. He added that when he received answers to his questions he switched gears. “That is really the difference between last week and this week.”
Section 10 of the bonding resolution states the town’s building commission will become the School Building Committee under state law and will be guided by all town and state laws. However, the town’s building commission is still incomplete and discussions on how it will handle multiple projects have not taken place in a public forum.
“I believe striking this section of the resolution would help resolve the issues,” Sullivan said. “Funding could still move forward as part of this resolution.” The motion was seconded. At one point a request was made for a legal opinion, but Town Attorney Bill Aniskovich was not present at the meeting.
Finance Director Jim Finch (pictured) was asked to speak to the issue and while he said he was not a lawyer, he believed the RTM could make an amendment to remove the section, but that there could be problems later on.
“Wait A Month”
Maryann Amore (D‑4), a member of the RTM education committee, said the RTM had to meet next month to approve a certified building committee, “so it does not slow us down if we have to wait a month.” She added, “I don’t think we have done what we had to do on the town side. We need to know about the control and the management for this.”
At one point Amore noted as she looked across the aisle to Republican Marc Riccio (R‑6) that the both of them had taken far longer arguing about a $5,000 item than the $88.2 million item before them now.
In the end, the RTM moderator Dennis Flanagan (R‑5) called for a vote on the Sullivan amendment. It failed by a loud voice vote. He then turned to the main vote of the night and quickly won approval from the Republican majority.
While the ticket price is high, all the RTM members know the Walsh school has to be renovated. “We are all in favor of funding this project. Obviously improving Walsh is important to the town,” Sullivan told the Eagle afterward. “But we don’t want to write a blank check. Tonight we are told by the first selectman that additional people will be appointed to the building commission but we have no idea who those people are going to be.”
Key RTM Republican members urged passage. Rep. Frank Twohill, (R‑1) a longtime member of the RTM and the chair of the education committee, said, “The Walsh school has served us well. It is 46 years old, and the time has come to upgrade the school.” He observed that the school was built at a time when open classrooms were in vogue. He said this renovation takes care of those concerns. He praised the work of the DTC/Perkins Eastman architects, saying, “All of the questions have been answered.” He urged those across the aisle to ask questions if they had them.
Robert Imperato (R‑4), chair of the public services committee, outlined the roles of oversight leaders, such as an owner’s representative on the project and a construction manager, saying these hires might help put the Democrats at ease.
The conflict that emerged did not stem from school side; it stemmed from the town side, specifically issues that might be relevant to the building commission, which was first outlined by First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove and later approved by the RTM in 2014. The issue, said Selectman Jack Ahern, was whether the commission could handle this project along with others.
Ahern, the former fire chief who oversaw the long-delayed fire headquarters project, is now the Democratic member of the Board of Selectmen. He wanted more information about the building commission. “There is commission confusion,” Ahern told Cosgrove.
At one point, Ahern questioned Cosgrove about the need to press forward so quickly. ( See top photo) “I think it is important you know who is on that committee…. What is the rush? The plan is good. The money is good. We need to know more.” Ahern spoke after his wife, Lisa, (pictured) a member of the RTM, said, “We need a framework. We have to get it right,” before going forward.
Cosgrove told Ahern, “This is a different process than the fire house,” he said, adding that the Board of Education “has the charge to develop this. You can’t compare a fire house to a school.”
Cosgrove told the RTM that the Walsh project was financially feasible. He praised the five-member building commission, adding the town has an obligation to manage the projects. “I have full faith in the building commission,” he added.
At the Board of Finance meeting on January 4, Cosgrove announced that he was appointing three new ex-officio members to the building commission for the Walsh project: BOF chair Joseph Mooney, Hernandez, and BOE chair Michael Krause. Cosgrove is also an ex-officio member of the commission.
But these are non-voting members and the building commission ordinance provides for two project experts to be added to the commission, members with voting rights.
“I don’t think we have done what we had to do on the town side. We need to know about the control and the management for this,” Amore said.
Paul Cianci, a civil engineer and a Republican appointee to the building commission serves as the commission secretary. “We would like to get started,” he said. “We need to get started.” He said he was excited to about the project, and gave his qualifications when asked.
“I would hate for this to be delayed for political theater,” he said of the discussion.
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