The Board of Finance held a regular meeting on September 8, 2008 in the Middle School Library, Queen Street, Newtown, CT. Chairman John Kortze called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
PRESENT: John Kortze, James Gaston, Martin Gersten, Joseph Kearney, Michael Portnoy (8:30), Harrison Waterbury.
ALSO PRESENT: First Selectman Joseph Borst, Selectman Paul Mangiafico, Financial Director Robert Tait, Schools Superintendent Dr. Janet Robinson, Assistant Superintendent Linda Gejda, Director of Business Ron Bienkowski, Schools Director of Grounds and Maintenance Gino Faiello Board of Education Chairman Elaine McClure and members Kathy Fetchick, Lillian Bittman and Anna Wiedemann, Fletcher-Thompson representatives Joseph Costa and Matt Holst, Morganti representatives Ed Barrett and Arthey Lindley, approximately thirty-five members of public, two members of press.
VOTER PARTICIPATION. Mary Ann Jacob, 65 Mohawk Terrace, said that the town showed firm support for the project and that the $6 million should be sent to the voters as recommended by the Board of Education and the Public Building and Site Commission.
Stacie Doyle, 16 Clapboard Ridge Road, supports the Board of Education’s request for additional funds and asked that this be forwarded to the Legislative Council. The High School will continue to be overcrowded through 2014-15. The consultant to the Build Out Committee could not determine population projections.
Bob Merola, 22 Ashford Lane, said this is not the right time nor the right project. Redesign to actual requirements. He said that the High School overcrowding as determined by NEASC did not include athletics. The high water mark will be in 2016; actual High School population has been less than Bothwell projected for years. There has been a severe downturn in new housing starts. This is a second chance to get it right.
Carol Brown, 48 Marlin Road, urged the Board of Finance to approve the $6 million request. We look at benefit vs. value. The extra dollars that are necessary should be spent happily. Go forward not backward.
Robert Melchionno, 4 Charter Ridge Road, is disturbed that we had only one option. We are going into a global recession. A 16% increase should not be blamed on materials and fuel. He is in favor of the expansion but we should not be paying $6 million more. Maybe we should wait another six months.
Phil Clark, 7 Currituck Drive, is in favor of the project. But we are paying $571 per square foot and the Newtown Youth Academy which he is constructing is paying $81 per square foot. We should be paying about $233 per square foot not Beverly Hills costs.
Peder Scott, 18 Mt. Pleasant Road, is an architect and engineer. He feels that 10% increase could have been expected but with such a large increase it is time to aggressive. Could the construction manager put together petroleum and material allowances, and identify elements that have price drops that we could utilize as we go along. A cost analysis was provided. There should not be any big surprises when you go out to bid. The owner should rebid. The bids came back skewed. It is the responsibility of the design team to meet the goal and the residents should not expect this to be thrown back to them. It is for the engineer and the architect to meet the goals.
Carol Wojtowicz, 4 Lovells Lane, said that we have to provide a very good educational system for our kids and $6 million will not break the Town. This has to go to the voters.
Sarah Beier, Yogananda Street, said that the merits have not changed. Let this go to the Legislative Council and through the course.
Dan Amaral, Elm Drive, said that the gym is a big part of the project. Make changes to come out to $38 million.
Chris Smith, 22 Wills Road, feels that pricing will not go down.
Bonnie Shugrue, 5 Bari Drive, asked that if you turn down a bidder will the next highest bidder be available and able to do the job.
COMMUNICATIONS. Mr. Kortze received many emails and thanks the correspondents. The majority were in support of the High School project but he received more negative emails than he has in the past.
MINUTES. Upon motion of Mr. Gersten, the minutes of the regular meeting of August 28, 2008 were unanimously accepted as presented.
FIRST SELECTMAN REPORT. Mr. Borst had no report.
FINANCIAL DIRECTOR REPORT. Mr. Tait had no report.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS.
NEW BUSINESS.
Discussion and Possible Action.: RESOLUTION AMENDING A RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR A SPECIAL APPROPRIATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $38,826,000 FOR THE PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION OF ADDITIONS AND RENOVATIONS AT NEWTOWN HIGH SCHOOL AND AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF $38,826,000 BONDS OF THE TOWN TO MEET SAID SPECIAL APPROPRIATION AND PENDING THE ISSUANCE THEREOF THE MAKING OF TEMPORARY BORROWINGS FOR SUCH PURPOSE”, a copy of which is attached hereto, is hereby adopted and recommended to the Legislative Council for consideration and action, said special appropriation was requested in a letter dated August 29, 2008 from Janet M. Robinson, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools in accordance with Section 6-30 (a) & (b) of the Town Charter, a copy of which is attached hereto.
Mr. Kortze asked to hear from the Board of Education.
Elaine McClure, 32 Ashford Lane, is the Chairman of the Board of Education. She noted that the bids came in $6 million over budget and the project is now a 23 month project. She said that in April 2008 60% of the people who voted and 39% of the population voted to approve the project. The Board of Education and Public Building and Site Commission recommended that the $6 million go to referendum. Portables are a temporary solution. The Board of Education moved all items in the CIP out one to two years so that only the High School are in years one and two.
Dr. Janet Robinson, Superintendent of Schools, said that the educational needs have not changed and this is still the best option. The $6 million includes all alternates except the green roof. The reimbursement rate from the State will be 31.43%. Several Boards met to try to reduce the amount. We are hoping to have a referendum on October 7 as the bids will expire on October 26.
Lillian Bittman, Board of Education member, said that the much of the increase is due to increases in steel and petroleum. She said that construction trades are slower to react to these things. She said that we will be 1-2 years out if we rebid.
Ed Barrett, Morganti Group, said that a factor of 6-8% per year is the basis for this project. He said that an April to July spike put this out the window but we had already sent our information to the State. Our figures were within ½ to ¾ of a percent of our consultants. We scoped out the bids and eliminated the low bidder for demo and hazardous materials abatement. The general trades low bidder left out significant items so we moved to the second low bidder. He said that in addition to increasing steel costs, manufacturers and suppliers were reluctant to guarantee prices for any duration because things were so volatile. Value engineering was pursued while this process was going on and $550,000 to $600,000 in cost savings was realized.
At this time Mr. Portnoy joined the meeting.
Kathy Fetchick, Board of Education member, discussed options considered by the Board of Education, which were: To request additional funds which the Board of Ed feels is the best plan. The schedule would be delayed six months and the addition would be ready July, 2010. We need portables for the eighth grade. We would not incur escalation costs unless we ask for changes. The track and field were included and were bid in one package which saved $500,000.
Another option is to rebid packages; with a November start occupancy would be in January 2011. We would need portables longer. There would be escalation costs of nine months. She said that the State estimates that we would pay $425 to $500 per square foot for the finished product and Mr. Costa of Fletcher-Thompson said we are paying $355. The Board of Education feels that it would be a big risk to rebid.
Another option would be minor redesign which would take 10-12 months. This would add 17 months more in the schedule. There would be architect’s and bid document fees and 21 months of portables. She said that the gym is needed to support the structure and that space under the gym is to be used. She said that the Board of Education did not discuss a complete redesign; the State would consider that a new project and we would lose the architect’s fees reimbursement. We could not meet this year’s June 30 deadline and would have to submit for next June 30. Just to redesign would take 22 months not including construction.
Joseph Costa, Morganti Group, is the principal architect on the project. He said that we studied dozens of options. We considered enrollment, education specs, circulation, safety and program issues. He said that Fletcher-Thompson does not recommend rebidding the project. We are looking at accelerating parts of the project and will start looking for solutions.
Dr. Robinson said that this is a project that we need. The eighth grade will be the start of a wave not a bubble. She said that we cannot reorganize grade levels because there is no space in the district. A stand alone ninth grade is not practical because we need space for 500 students many of whom attend special classes and would need busing.
Mr. Kortze clarified the Board of Finance’s responsibilities and position. He said that the Board of Finance is advisory to the Legislative Council and does not sent projects to the voters nor does it call a referendum. The Board of Finance has 30 days from the request for a special appropriation to make a recommendation to the Legislative Council; the request was made on August 29. The Board of Finance can: do nothing, approve the request, reject the request or table the request for lack of information. He said that the Board of Finance’s job is to figure out how to pay for the project and to vet the process.
He asked Dr. Robinson if the total cost is the $6 million amount over bid and $650,000 for portables, to which she replied yes. He asked if a delay of one year would be problematic with NEASC. Dr. Robinson said that NEASC would see that we are moving forward so this should not be a problem. Mr. Kortze asked if the reimbursement rate will be affected; Dr. Robinson said that we are locked in unless we make a major overhaul. Mr. Kortze inquired if we asked the bidders for an extension. Mr. Barrett said that 60% of the bidders would extend their bids for another sixty days. Other bidders requested a total of $300,000 to $400,000 to hold their bids. Mr. Barrett said that this would be the only cost if the bids are extended sixty days.
Mr. Kortze asked if the Board of Education discussed a bubble shift all in one with pushing out everything. Mr. Bienkowski said that the Board of Education wants to relieve pressure of the 10% cap. Mr. Kortze said that if everything is moved out could you do something sooner and save escalation costs?
Mr. Gaston asked why did steel go up so significantly? Who will hold their bids? Mr. Barrett said that the energy costs increased and costs of steel products around the world and pressure from China and Japan for steel have caused the increases, as well as supply and demand.
Mr. Waterbury asked if there is still a 5% contingency; Mr. Barrett said that there is. Mr. Waterbury asked what is the plan for a $38 million project. Ms. Fetchick said we would look at the other four options. Dr. Robinson said that we cannot build the project for $38 million and we would probably pull out of the State pipeline. She said that the gym is needed for our academic programs and eliminating it is probably a major redesign. Mr. Waterbury asked what percentage of the project is forced on the Town because of the various agencies. Mr. Costa said that this amount will go up because the State enacted legislation effective January 1, 2009 concerning school rebuilding. We must meet the qualifications for silver and this will drive prices higher. He does not know this percentage involving other agencies. Mr.
Waterbury feels that the project was sold as overpopulation and things were added that were not related to the population of the schools.
Mr. Gersten asked if the project size is driven by anticipated enrollment and has the Board of Education looked at projections beyond Bothwell’s. Dr. Robinson said that we want to be at 85% capacity not 100% capacity and we have not looked at other figures. Mr. Gersten asked if there is a Plan B. Dr. Robinson said there is none. Mr. Gersten noted that Dr. Robinson said in January or February that there was no room for portables. Dr. Robinson said that she was told that at that time but later found out that the Fire Marshal had said no to that location and now it is feasible to have two more quads on the site. Mr. Gersten asked if Dr. Robinson still has faith in their consultants in view of the 25% that the bids came in over budget. Dr. Robinson said that the consultants gave credible responses to the Board
of Education.
Mr. Kearney asked if the consultants considered asking outside consultants to look at this. Mrs. McClure and Ms. Fetchick said that the Public Building and Site Commission were asking the technical questions and were the Board of Education’s experts. Mr. Kearney asked why don’t we have the plans reviewed and/or adjusted by another firm. Mr. Costa said that they can be reviewed but not adjusted. Mr. Kearney asked if we will lose the architect’s fees. Mr. Bienkowski said that we will if we have to bid the fees with a new application.
Mr. Gersten asked if the Board of Education considered a scalable option. Dr. Robinson said that with the ramifications of a scaled down model that was not an option to us and probably the cost savings would not be significant. Mr. Gersten asked how the Board of Education could have determined what the cost savings would have been without knowing the costs.
Mr. Portnoy was shocked by the projection figures on page 13 of Attachment A to the original minutes. He said that if the biggest bubble today is the sixth and eighth grades, after 2014-15 when the sixth grade class leaves the projections should be the same or less. He said that we were told to expect 2022 students and the highest projection now is 1777. Dr. Robinson said that we want capacity to be 85% not 100%. Mr. Portnoy asked Mr. Costa if the project could be designed to 1830 students at $38 million or what could we build to $38 million. Mr. Costa said that he could not answer that at this point. Dr. Robinson said that we have a move in factor from sixth grade and above. Mr. Portnoy asked if the State did enrollment projections in the fall of 2007; the response was no. Mr. Portnoy asked what percentage of
the $6 million was due to overages. Mr. Barrett said the majority. Mr. Portnoy said that since July 29 energy prices have gone down significantly and would this flow into the bidding process. Mr. Barrett said there would be only some effect.
Mr. Gaston said that there is a wave not a bubble according to the Build Out Committee consultant, H. C. Planning. He is concerned with rebid vs. the consent of the voters. He asked if a significant decrease in the project is possible if we rebid. Mr. Barrett said no. Mr. Gersten noted that the price of oil has decreased from $150 to $105 and does this have an impact. Mr. Barrett said there is some but that there are other costs associated with this.
Mr. Kearney asked if the bidders could be asked to specify items. Mr. Barrett is not sure that the bidders would respond. Mr. Kearney asked if the Town would agree to pre-pay the contractors for material. Mr. Barrett said that some things could be done in pre-purchase but timing was considered in not doing this.
Mr. Kortze asked if the Board of Education would be amenable to the Board of Finance juggling the Board of Ed’s CIP as presented? Mrs. McClure said only if the High School could still be the first priority. Mr. Kortze noted that if the Board of Ed has pushed all other items out something may be able to be done sooner to save escalation costs and keep under the 10% cap. He asked if it is correct that the Board of Ed does not have a Plan B. Dr. Robinson said that is correct.
Mr. Gaston moved to waive the reading of the entire resolution, second by Mr. Waterbury and unanimously carried. Mr. Kortze confirmed with Mr. Borst that the Town would still keep the $38 million even if this referendum is not approved.
Mr. Gaston moved to adopt a RESOLUTION AMENDING A RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR A SPECIAL APPROPRIATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $38,826,000 FOR THE PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION OF ADDITIONS AND RENOVATIONS AT NEWTOWN HIGH SCHOOL AND AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF $38,826,000 BONDS OF THE TOWN TO MEET SAID SPECIAL APPROPRIATION AND PENDING THE ISSUANCE THEREOF THE MAKING OF TEMPORARY BORROWINGS FOR SUCH PURPOSE”, a copy of which is attached hereto, is hereby adopted and recommended to the Legislative Council for consideration and action, said special appropriation was requested in a letter dated August 29, 2008 from Janet M. Robinson, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools in accordance with Section 6-30 (a) & (b) of the Town Charter, a copy of which is attached hereto. Second by Mr. Kortze. Mr. Gaston has an issue with rebid
vs. consent of the voters. He feels that we are gambling with rebidding. He said that the authority of the government is with the consent of the people and that we have to respect the taxpayer. In the future he would support better communications and having the Board of Finance included more in the process. Mr. Kortze said that it is the job of the Board of Finance to figure out how to satisfy the requests of the Board of Education and the Board of Selectmen. He noted that four years ago the Board of Finance asked for the numbers for the High School project. He feels that we can figure out how to pay for this and that we owe it to the taxpayers to render a final decision.
Motion failed by roll call vote YES 3 (Waterbury, Gaston, Kortze). NO 3 (Gersten, Kearney, Portnoy).
Mr. Kortze said that this is a definitive vote and that the Board of Education should now go to the Legislative Council. Mrs. McClure asked if the Legislative Council would need a super majority to approve this. Mr. Kortze feels that the rules would apply for a special appropriation. Mr. Gaston reviewed the charter and could find no indication that a super majority of the Legislative Council was needed. Mr. Kortze suggested that the Board of Education obtain an opinion from Town Attorney David Grogins.
Discussion and Possible Action: To amend the 2008/2009 CIP as such: A request from the Edmond Town Hall Managers to add $90,000 to 2008/2009 CIP for capital improvements to the kitchen to be funded from LOCIP grants. Mr. Gaston moved to amend the CIP to add $90,000 to the 2008-2009 CIP for capital improvements to the kitchen to be funded from LOCIP grants. Second by Mr. Waterbury. Mr. Tait noted that LOCIP expenditures have to be included in the CIP. Motion unanimously carried.
Transfer of Funds~~~~~~
FROM Account 44-600 Reserve for Capital and Non Recurring fund ~~$5,000,000
TO ~~~~~ Account 01-490 General Fund~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ $5,000,000
Mr. Gaston moved to transfer from Account 44-600 Reserve for Capital and Non-Recurring $5,000,000 to Account 01-490 General Fund $5,000,000. Second by Mr. Kearney. Mr. Tait noted that a recent charter change allows the town to manage its fund balance. Motion unanimously carried.
Capital Improvement Plan. Mr. Tait distributed “Town of Newtown Capital Improvement Plan –Town/BOE Proposals with no Changes>>>>>Prelim Data 2009-2010” (Attachment B to original minutes). This will be discussed at the September 25 meeting.
General Fund, Unreserved Fund Balance Policy (Attachment C to original minutes). Mr. Tait will revise the policy to include Mr. Kearney’s suggested changes to be discussed at the September 25 meeting.
Year end Re-appropriations. Mr. Tait distributed “Town of Newtown Schedule B – Fiscal Year End Reappropriations At June 30, 2008” (Attachment D to original minutes). Mr. Tait noted that the purchase orders were reviewed with the Department Heads who have been advised that in the future projects will be reviewed and there maybe a possibility that if a project is not completed that the funds may not be carried forward especially if economic conditions are not good. Mr. Portnoy moved to approve Town of Newtown Schedule B – Fiscal Year End Reappropriations At June 30, 2008 as presented. Second by Mr. Waterbury and unanimously carried.
Discussion of Board of Education Year-End Transfers. This item will be discussed at the September 25 meeting.
ADJOURNMENT Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:20 p.m.
Ann M. Mazur, Clerk
| 
