The Permanent Committee to Study the Needs and Use of Town Public Buildings Including Town Hall Facilities held a special meeting on December 11, 2006, at the Stonington Town Hall.
Present: Charles Ballato, George Brennan, John Gomes, Stephen Singer, and Steven Small. Also present were members of the public.
(1) Call to Order/Approval of Minutes
Steven Small, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. and reviewed minutes from the meeting held on November 20, 2006. A motion was made by Charles Ballato, seconded by George Brennan, and it was voted to approve the minutes as distributed.
(2) New Business
Steven Small informed the Committee meeting space has been reserved at the building on Route 1 next to Cove Ledge. This space is being leased for the reevaluation process, but the Committee will have access to the building on the third Monday of the month for its meetings. A motion was made by George Brennan, seconded by Stephen Singer, and it was voted to adopt a regular meeting schedule for the third Monday of the month at 7 p.m. utilizing the facility on Route 1 (DiCesare building).
(3) Review of Request for Qualifications versus Request for Proposal
In addition to the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) previously distributed, Stephen Singer developed a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) and mailed it to Committee members for review. He stated that the Committee should develop evaluation criteria and score vendors based upon criteria by devising a point system, i.e., points for references, approach, etc. Steven Small added that the process should be to develop the proposal first, followed by developing criteria. A motion was made by George Brennan, seconded by Charles Ballato, and it was voted to proceed with a RFP with recommended language changes. The Committee continued to develop the RFP for the project and reached a consensus on language. Stephen Singer will edit the document with recommended changes. During the process
Committee members interacted with members of the public present and entertained suggestions/comments. Members of the public discussed the space utilization in the Town Hall, technology needs, and meeting space.
Steven Small stated the RFP will be prepared and passed along to the Town Hall staff to finalize. Legal counsel will review its contents to ensure it does not violate any regulations. The Committee discussed presenting the document to the public for feedback, posting as a bid document, and establishing a calendar for the process.
(4) Public Comment
Bill Sternberg, 153 Elm Street, Stonington, discussed evaluation criteria. The issue is to retain the best technology qualified person in a competitive price range.
David Christina, 141 Elm Street, Stonington questioned if the Committee was aware of a bid for a new building at the dump and was it under the responsibility of the Committee. He distributed information on the Town of Chester similar to the project under review by the Committee. Mr. Christina felt the RFP is premature, stating that the Committee does not have a clear charge and definition of infrastructure that is in the Town resolution.
(5) Next Meeting/Adjournment
A motion was made by John Gomes, seconded by Stephen Singer, and it was voted that the Permanent Committee to Study the Needs and Use of Town Public Buildings Including Town Hall Facilities will meet on January 15, 2007 at the new location. There being no further business, George Brennan made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:45 p.m., seconded by Steven Small, and it was so voted.
Submitted by,
__________________________ _______________________________
Maureen L. Carboni, Recorder Steven Small, Chairman
| 