WETHERSFIELD TOWN HALL / LIBRARY RENOVATIONS BUILDING COMMITTEE AMENDED MINUTES - MONDAY AUGUST 9, 2004

Chairman Coombs called the Meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. in the Library Meeting Room. Members present were Paul Camarco, Joseph Coombs, Carmen Pace, Stuart Temple and Tim Tuell. Staff Liaison Tony Martino and Mike Turner were present. Library Director Laurel Goodgion and Town Councilors Andy Adil and Christine Fortunato were also present. Committee Members David Edwards and Raymond Grasso were absent.

Executive Session - Pending Litigation - No session was needed.

  1. Public Comments:
    1. None.
  2. Approval of Minutes:
    1. Minutes of July 26, 2004 Meeting - Motion by Paul Camarco seconded by Tim Tuell to approve minutes. All members voted in favor.
  3. Projects for Discussion:
    1. Town Wide Radio System
      1. Expenditures (NOTE: This was approved after there was a quorum)
        1. Martin AG (USA) - Invoice WCT-37-PM - $3,775.00 - Motion by Paul Camarco seconded by Carmen Pace to approve payment. All members voted in favor.
      2. Contractor Change Orders:
        1. Discussion Motorola Equipment Credit - Mike Turner and Chairman Coombs advised there was nothing new to report. The Town Attorney has received no further correspondence from Motorola's attorney.
      3. Old Business:
        1. None
      4. New Business:
        1. Mike Turner advised that Motorola swapped out microwave equipment between towers for hot standby. One piece of equipment had failed and was covered under warrantee. Motorola will swap out all the microwave equipment changing vendors as the current vendor is in Israel and they don't want to rely on forwarding disks back and forth to Israel for repair.
      5. Staff Information:
        1. Motorola Interference Investigation - Mike Turner advised we received a report back from Motorola. The results show the system isn't operating at optimum level. Two vendors Nextel and Verizon have added filters to their dishes at Executive Square. The system needs to operate at optimum level before final analysis can be finalized.
        2. Radio Salvage Status - Chairman Coombs advised all equipment has been removed from Town Hall. Some equipment has been sold. Fred Martin will give us an accounting and funds to deposit. We will then pay him his commission.
    2. Town Hall & Library Renovations:
      1. Expenditures
        1. None
      2. Project Status:
        1. Tonight we will make a recommendation to Town Council. The recommendation will be on the Council's August 16th Agenda. Carmen Pace questioned timetable. Chairman Coombs advised once the general contractor is selected and on board we should accomplish our goal within a year. Andy Adil advised of the possiblility of an infrastructure bond to do additional work to Town Hall. Chairman Coombs advised whatever the voters approve could be done in a second phase. Because of the scope of work it will have to go out to bid and not automatically awarded to the general contractor for the current project. Tim Tuell advised when the infrastructure bond is put to the voters language should be included advising this is additional work not under the original scope of the current project. Christine Fortunato questioned the accuracy of the Town Hall Window figure. Chairman Coombs advised this figure had been researched buy the architect and contingency allocated for rising cost. In the current environment building materials are escalating at a rapid rate. Chairman Coombs advise there is a new energy grant out there we might qualify for to offset some of the costs for the work proposed under the infrastructure bond. The grant would pay 75% of the project cost and the rest financed at 0% paid off the energy savings on electric invoices. Laurel Goodgion questioned where items would be stored during renovations. Her original plan was to use Moeller Home but that will be under construction when they need it. Laurel has to get rid of some material first then see what was left to be stored. No plans had been made for storage as there was no request for same. Chairman Coombs advised depending on what has to be stored it might we might be able to store it on the rolling shelves that will be installed in the old police area.
      3. Staff Information
        1. Chairman Coombs 7-27-04 Memo - Network Infrastructure Standards - Chairman Coombs went over this standard for the Council members present. These are guideline that will be used where we can. Needs for Colleges are different than needs for Town Hall and Libraries.
        2. Mike Turner 7-27-04 Letter to 3 Lowest Bidders - This items was received as information.
        3. Responses from 3 Lowest Bidders - This item was received as information.

        NOTE: Stuart Temple arrived at 6:43 PM. At this point we went back to approve invoices.

      4. Old Business:
        1. Selection of Contractor - Chairman Coombs gave the Committee the responses he received from calls to vendors. Tony Martino reported on the favorable response David Edwards received from his inquires of Nutmeg. Mike Turner advised Nutmeg was originally a Mechanical Contractor and over the past few years has gotten into general contracting. Our project is not a pure mechanical project but they have the capabilities to perform this function. All comments were favorable for Nutmeg. Some Members liked other vendors but there was no reason not to pick the lowest bidder. Motion by Paul Camarco seconded by Stuart Temple to recommend to Town Council the selection of The Nutmeg Companies as general contractor for the Town Hall / Library Renovation Project with a bid of $2,232,220. All members voted in favor.
        2. Small Cities Grant -
          1. Mike Turner 8-4-04 Letter Status Update to DECD - This was received for information only.
        3. Technology Committee - Discussed above.
      5. New Business:
        1. None
  4. Next Scheduled Meeting:
    1. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be Monday August 23, 2004 at 6:00PM in the Library Meeting Room.
  5. Adjournment: Motion by Paul Camarco seconded by Tim Tuell to adjourn. All members voted in favor. Meeting adjourned at 7:05 PM.

I hereby certify that the above is a true copy of the minutes approved by the Town Hall Renovations Committee.

Paul Camarco, Clerk