Date: Fri 14-Jun-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Town-Hall-South-renovation

Full Text:

Selectmen Endorse Town Hall South Renovation

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

The Board of Selectmen Monday night unanimously approved the expenditure of

$840,000 to renovate Town Hall South. The proposal will be presented to the

Legislative Council next week and also must be approved by voters at a town

meeting.

The selectmen recommended that the money to pay for the project come from the

town's Reserve Fund for Capital and Non-Recurring Expenditures, a fund which

currently has a balance of more than $2 million.

"This is a small investment to get what will look like a new police department

and town hall annex," said First Selectman Bob Cascella. "The building has

been in a state of disrepair for years, and no amount of maintenance now can

fix it. The people who worked in the flooded conditions in Town Hall South

this past winter went well beyond the call of duty.

"That corner will look nice - really sharp - when the work is done," he added.

Architect John Madzula told the selectmen that the building renovation cost is

estimated at $678,000. Another $30,000 will be needed for site development

which includes such expenses as landscaping, paving, curbing, striping the

parking lot and minor drainage work, most of which will be done with town

labor. About $10,000 will be needed to relocate the 911 air conditioning unit

and antennas on the building, which also houses the police department.

Mr Madzula said $105,000, or about 15 percent of the project cost, would be

set aside for contingencies, and $17,000 for architect/engineer fees.

"There are a lot of town officials in the building to provide supervision of

the project (the fees) hopefully will be a lot less," he said. "The cost is

based on an hourly rate spread over an estimated six-month construction

period."

Last year the council informally earmarked $250,000 of the reserve fund for

the project. An additional $575,000 of surplus funds were added to the reserve

fund as part of the 1996-97 budget with the Town Hall South project in mind

although money cannot be officially allocated until the money is withdrawn

from the reserve fund. According to the town charter, all expenditures of more

than $50,000 must go to a town meeting for a vote.

This spring much of the tile flooring and wallboard was removed from the

Planning & Zoning Office on the lower level of the building at the order of

the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) because of repeated

damage caused by flooding. A major repair of the curtain drain around the

building is planned as part of the renovation project.

The proposed project also includes a new pitched roof to replace the existing

flat roof, new single-hung windows to replace the existing sliders, brick

siding on all four sides of the building, and enclosure of the parking ramp

area to create 5,000 square feet of additional space for future office

expansion. Carpeting repeatedly soaked by leaks in the lower level will be

replaced with tile flooring. New sheetrock will be installed in the damaged

areas, any damaged studs will be replaced and the electrical system will be

repaired. All work must comply with new state building codes.

When the project went out to bid last year, Clearheart Construction Company of

Bethel was the low bidder with a base bid of $758,000, well above the original

estimate of $500,000. With all eight of the alternate proposals included, the

total construction bid was $893,385. Efforts subsequently were made to reduce

the cost of the project.

Mr Madzula said an engineering consulting firm used by the town on other

projects was hired to do "value engineering," a process that identifies where

savings can be made without a detrimental effect on the project. He said the

engineers determined that less structural steel could be used to enclose the

parking ramp area. Other savings were realized by using a different window

manufacturer, he said.

"We've been working on this project for almost a year now," Mr Madzula said.

"Hopefully we're at a point where we're ready to go ahead."

During the construction, the built-up roof will be torn off but the metal

decking will remain and will be covered to prevent rain from leaking in.

"We've told the contractor that the police department must be kept in

operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week," Mr Madzula said.

He said the decision was made to include $105,000 for contingency because it

isn't known yet whether there may be contaminated soil that would have to be

disposed of as hazardous waste. Before the town bought the property in the

mid-1970s, the building served as a farm implement salesroom and repair

facility.

While waste oil could have been dumped outside the building decades ago,

ground water samples tested during the flooding of the building earlier this

year showed no traces of contamination, Mr Cascella said.

A committee which included Mr Cascella, Public Works Director Fred Hurley and

Legislative Council members Joe Borst and Win Ballard has been overseeing the

planning of the project.

The proposal is slated to be on the agenda of the Legislative Council meeting

which will be held at 8 pm on Wednesday, July 17, in the Middle School

library.