WETHERSFIELD TOWN HALL / LIBRARY RENOVATIONS BUILDING COMMITTEE MINUTES - THURSDAY August 31, 2006

Chairman Coombs called the Special Meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. in Conference Room 1 (Ground Floor). Members present were Joseph Coombs, Raymond Grasso, Luke, McEntire, Carmen Pace and Tim Tuell. Staff Liaison Tony Martino, Mike Turner, Library Director Laurel Goodgion and Councilor Andy Adil were also present. Committee Members Paul Camarco and Stuart Temple were absent.

Today is day 696 of the project.

1. Public Comments:
   1. None.
2. Projects for Discussion:
   1. Town Hall / Library Renovations - Phase 2
      1. New Business
         1. Boiler Bid - Members were given a handout with the spreadsheet of the bid results al well as the reference list from the two lowest bidders and comments from Ed Flynn. Chairman Coombs advised he and Ed Flynn interviewed both vendors and Mike Turner was involved with the interview with Barry Associates Inc. The conclusion between Chairman Coombs and Ed Flynn is that the low bidder Reliable Mechanical cannot perform the work for this price nor perform this work. Reliable was asked if their price included replacing both boilers and advised yes. You cannot put in one boiler for their bid price. Barry Associates' bid was within the estimate the mechanical engineer developed. Mike Turner advised that Nutmeg has started boiler demolition so we can remove that addendum from the bid.

            NOTE: Andy Adil arrived at 6:07 PM

            Mike Turner received references from both bidders. Our goal is to have boilers working by October 15th. Other work not related to boilers can be done after startup. There is a two to four week lead time to get boilers delivered.

            • Reliable Mechanical - Steve Lattarulo the Town Mechanical Inspector heard back from Reliable's references but was waiting to hear back from Barry's. None of Reliable's references ever had them do commercial work only residential work. Some references were suppliers or sub-contractors that he worked with. Steve Lattarulo has inspected Reliable's work in Town. It is mostly water heaters. Chairman Coombs advised Reliable has been in business for ten years. They have an S-3 License that expires today. They have no employees. The owner's brother, John, from John's Plumbing (one of his references) helps him when he needs assistance. When Chairman Coombs and Ed Flynn reviewed the plans with Reliable, the owner didn't grasp the work. He wanted to bring the boilers down the hallway and not thru the window. He said he could have the boilers up and running within a week. He said he didn't need an electrician because he could pigtail the wires to the burner himself. He had no question on the bids. The owner did boiler work for the City of Hartford from which he retired.
            • Barry's Associates - Barry's Associates gave references for similar work. They have been in business for over 30 years. They have 6 to 10 employees and have P-1; P-3 and S-3 Licenses. Barry's has offered a substitute (MacLean Boiler) for the HB Smith Boiler if there is a delay. Their alternate is a comparable boiler. John Barry had questions asking of the breaching was covered with asbestos. He was told it was not. John Barry had a good understanding of the scope of the work. John Barry advised their quote was low because things are starting to slow down and he doesn't want to lay off any of his employees.

            Tim Tuell was uncomfortable that we didn't have references back for Barry Associates. Raymond Grasso agreed we needed this information for due diligence. Motion made by Tim Tuell seconded by Raymond Grasso to approve recommending to Town Council Vendor 2, Barry Associates as long as no negative comments come back from the references. If there are any negative comments then the matter should come back to this Committee before going to Town Council with a recommendation. All members voted in favor. Chairman Coombs asked if all members were available for a special meeting on Tuesday September 5th to review and make a recommendation to Town Council if there are any negative comments from references. A meeting will be posted to meet the 24 hour notification requirement and cancelled if not needed. Members will be called if the meeting is cancelled.

      2. Old Business
         1. Discussion on Scope of Work - Prior to the start of this discussion members were given two handouts (1) Mike Turner's August 24, 2006 memo on Phase 2 Scope of Work, Town Hall Renovations and (2) Peter Luchini's August 30, 2006 letter regarding Town Hall. Mike Turner, Peter Wells and Ed Flynn have identified items not in the scope of work for phase 2 that should be included. The following seven items were identified by LMG for consideration:
            1. First and second floor lighting replacement - If we change out all the lights we will be eligible for a CL&P rebate. The current lights were purchased in the 1970's and put together by Fred Valente and the Town Electrician.
            2. First and second floor ceiling replacement - The ceilings should come down and be replaced. If the ceilings are down the cost of above ceiling work (i.e. Sprinklers) will be less expensive. This can be tied in with the new lights.
            3. Demolition of power wiring (1) Remove wiring surface mounted on floor and (2) Remove wiring from Walker Ducting - There is wiring in the walker duct that feeds the ground cables that will be removed with abatement.
            4. Power and data to new workstations - As a result of abatement the old ground outlets will be removed and power has to be fed to the new modular workstations from the end walls or from a power pole down from the ceiling. Running power, phone and data down from the ceiling will probably be the cheapest way to go.
            5. Reconfigure generator wiring - The generator used to take care of the Police needs when they were in the building. It has been redone to handle the three floors of Town Hall. There are two manual switches that are no longer used that LMG is recommending be wired in to handle the two elevators so they can be operated during an emergency. The Generator has the capabilities of handling Town Hall, both elevators and the need of the new Emergency Operations Center; it cannot handle the needs to operate the Library as well. Tim Tuell asked if we are obliged to do this work. Mike Turner advised it makes sense to do it now. This is due diligence notification on LGM's part. .
            6. Insulation of piping and addition of isolation valves - Chairman Coombs advised that the current fan coil unit piping is not good causing leaks and staining the ceiling. We also want to add isolation valves so we don't have to close down the entire system to fix an individual unit. The values will control section s of each floor.
            7. Replace three air handling units - Peter Luchini is recommending three air handling units one is so bad it is not work re-fabricating. The cost of these units is $135,000.00. We will be asking the Capital Improvement Advisory Committee to look at this item in their fiscal year 2007/2008 CIP Budget.

            Mike Turner went over his August 24th memorandum, specifically the potential $32,450 savings from a sprinkler tap not needed, moving a sign already removed by Town staff; water filters MDC advised are not needed and walkway lights not needed. Mike also advised there is $400,000 in contingency for Phase 2. Raymond Grasso advised contingency is important and we should not use it at this time. Ray said we have a budget for Phase 2, we have a scope of work, and we also have a request for additional work. Put it all together now in the specs to avoid all the PCO's later. Put this all together subtracting the savings form the budget, adding the cost of the new work to see where we might be short of funds. Then go to Town Council presenting the above and request their guidance. Mike Turner advised the budget has a 15% Contingency and 4% inflation in the bond. Luke McEntire advised we should look at the additional work as addendums or alternates to the bid. Mike Turner advised if we look at the additional work as an alternate there is still architectural fees involved. Tim Tuell commented once the $165,000 figure for additional work is finalized it will be up to $300,000 taking architectural fees, etc into consideration. Inflation percentage should be higher based on what has happened in the past, with fuel and construction costs rising. Chairman Coombs suggested we look at hiring a consultant to price estimate the cost of work developed by the Architect. Mike Turner advised it would cost approximately $5,000 to $10,000 for the estimator. Motion made by Raymond Grasso seconded by Carmen Pace to have Mike Turner get three quotes for a contract estimator. All members voted in favor. Tim Tuell asked of the seven items on the list how they would be ranked in order of importance. He feels the generator can be done down the road as a stand alone item. Tim was advised we should do Items a, b, c, d, & f. Item e should be done as an alternate and Item g thru the CIP Budget. Items a & b should be figured by unit cost pricing. Motion made by Tim Tuell seconded by Raymond Grasso to have the six items included in the scope of work. All members voted in favor. A memorandum will be sent to Town Council for Tuesday night meeting advising them of the scope of work. Tim Tuell advised once the Council approves the additional scope of work the Architect and Engineer should be made aware of that fact so they can incorporate it into the bid specifications and advise them the Committee wants the specs completed by the September 25th deadline. Tim Tuell made a motion seconded by Carmen Pace to advise the Architect and Engineer that the Committee wants to specs completed by September 25, 2006. All but one member voted in favor. Luke McEntire abstained.

3. Next Scheduled Meeting:
   1. The next regular scheduled meeting will be Monday September 11, 2006 at 6:00PM in Conference Room 1.
4. Adjournment: Motion by Raymond Grasso seconded by Like McEntire to adjourn. All members voted in favor. Meeting adjourned at 7:35 PM.

Paul T. Camarco, Clerk