Diana Stricker Photo
(L-R) Jamie Cosgrove and Jack Ahern
The Board of Selectmen (BOS) approved the next phases of the Senior Center/Community House project but not without dissent from the third selectman over the absence of the building commission during the first 40 percent of the design process.
The BOS also appointed a special building committee to oversee construction of the new Indian Neck Fire House.
First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove said it’s time to take the next steps now that the Board of Finance (BOF) and the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) have approved the $12.1 million renovation and expansion of the Senior Center/Community House.
“Now that we have an appropriation in place, I’d like to move forward with the project,” Cosgrove said at a special BOS meeting Wednesday at Fire Headquarters.
The motion was unanimously approved for Quisenberry Arcari Architects LLC of Farmington to continue with Phase 2 architectural and engineering services and to oversee the construction phase. Cosgrove said the cost for these services was part of the funding that was already approved by the BOF and RTM.
Cosgrove told the Eagle after the meeting the new motion allows Quisenberry Arcari to complete the design work and then oversee construction. “We’ve got 40 percent of design development done,” he said, in order to get the cost estimates for the appropriations.
Third selectman Jack Ahern, the town’s former fire chief, asked if the project would be going to the Public Building Commission (PBC) for oversight.
“Now that the appropriations are in place we’ll hand it over to the Building Commission,” Cosgrove said. Over the last 18 months, the project has been handled by Cosgrove, the architects, town hall staff and departments heads.
Ahern: “The Power of Oversight”
Ahern said he thought the Public Building Commission should have had more oversight of the Senior Center/Community House project in the last year and a half. He said a vacancy on the commission has not been filled and no one has been appointed to represent the concerns of the seniors or the Community House.
“Nobody’s representing them … It’s been a long time …The RTM has seen it, the Board of Finance has seen it, but the Building Commission hasn’t seen it yet,” Ahern said. “We’re not giving the Building Commission the power of oversight that they deserve and that they should get before the project is even started,” Ahern said.
Cosgrove said the department heads and town staff have been greatly involved in the Senior Center/Community House project; and the Building Commission interviewed architectural firms and recommended hiring the Quisenberry Arcari firm in the summer of 2015.
Ahern repeated his concerns that the Public Building Commission should have been involved since then, and that the necessary people should be appointed.
The BOS unanimously approved the commission’s recommendation in July 2015, and hired the Quisenberry firm for Phase 1, which included conceptual designs.
In January 2016, the BOS unanimously approved Quisenberry Arcari to proceed with the initial steps of Phase 2, which included additional design and engineering work, seeking approvals from regulatory commissions, and estimating construction costs. A traffic study was also completed.
Cost estimates for the project were initially thought to be about $8 million, but the official estimate came in at $12.1 million
The Eagle later asked Cosgrove when the Building Commission would become active with the project.
“So now we’ll hand it off to the Building Commission and we’ll appoint representation for the project,” Cosgrove told the Eagle.
Under the town ordinance creating the Building Commission, the BOS may appoint two temporary members to represent the “user’s interest” for a particular project.
Cosgrove told the Eagle the new motion allows Quisenberry Arcari to complete the design work and then oversee construction. “We’ve got 40 percent of design development done,” he said, in order to get the cost estimates for the appropriations.
New Indian Neck Fire House
The BOS unanimously appointed six people to the Indian Neck Firehouse Building Project Oversight Committee —- Fire Chief Tom Mahoney, Assistant Chief Shaun Heffernan, Assistant Chief Robert Massey, Captain Mike Mullen, Town Engineer Janice Plaziak and Phil Delis.
Cosgrove’s name was originally listed on the agenda as a proposed committee member but he removed his name from the list since the committee will be making recommendations to the BOS and he will have to vote.
Ahern said he agreed with Cosgrove that the Oversight Committee was the best way to go for this project since those people all have fire department expertise. However, he asked why the project wasn’t going to the Public Building Commission.
Cosgrove said that reconstructing the firehouse is a straightforward project that will use a $500,000 state grant that has already been approved.
“All projects are different in scope and size and scale and requirements,” Cosgrove said. He said more complex projects that deal with location and size is more appropriate for the Public Building Commission “who see the big picture.”
He mentioned the Walsh Intermediate School project and the Community House expansion. “These are significant projects, and I think there’s a clear distinction between those projects and a project of this nature,” he said in regard to the smaller, Indian Neck firehouse.
Cosgrove said to satisfy the terms of the state grant they have to do a Request For Proposals to select an architect or design team for the firehouse project. He said the town engineer and fire department issued the RFP requests and that the new Oversight Committee will review the responses and make a recommendation to the BOS.
Cosgrove later told the Eagle that it’s not known whether the $500,000 grant will cover all the construction costs.
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