Municipal Renovations Committee
Minutes of Special Meeting
Wednesday, December 24th, 2008
Mayor’s Office
6:30 PM
Members Present: Ed Cook, Bill Hill, Mayor Bingham, Mike Clark Also Present: Stephen Nocera, Mayoral Aide; Jerry Rollett, Public Works Director, City of Torrington
1.The meeting was opened at 1PM, on a motion from Mayor Bingham, seconded by Ed Cook.
A discussion of the merits of eliminating the third floor “bump out” currently planned to house the Building Department was opened by Mr. Clark he stated that eliminating the “bump out” would reduce available space by 756 square feet. Mr. Clark stated that O&G cost estimates relating to not building the addition projected $225,000.00 savings in construction expense. There will be additional architectural fees of $65,000 for required design changes due to the deletion. Mr. Hill stated that in his opinion the Committee should vote against eliminating the “bump out” and felt it should be left in the plan for future growth. Mr. Clark countered that architect’s plans for the renovation were already utilizing approximately
4000 square feet of additional space for City Hall offices previously occupied by the Traffic Department and City Council Chambers. Mayor Bingham stated that City Hall functions are already being handled electronically more often and the trend pointed towards that growing. The Mayor felt that the plan without the addition afforded enough extra space for requirements now and in the future. Mr. Rollett was asked to comment, he stated that in his opinion any space available in City Hall would be “used”, but would not necessarily affect the main functions of a City Hall. Mr. Hill suggested that the dollar savings was not significant in view of the overall project cost. Mr. Cook stated that all cost cuts were essential and in their combined total would contribute to a substantial savings to taxpayers. Mr. Hill suggested that construction delays caused by the re-design/bid delays would
generate expenses not covered in the O&G estimate. Mr. Clark stated that he had discussed with O&G phasing the abatement and demolition portions of the project to begin as scheduled. O&G agreed that this would allow the project to begin with two weeks of the existing schedule and it would be brought up to schedule within one month and completed as currently forecast.
2. A motion to approve the elimination of the Building Department addition was made by Mayor Bingham and seconded by Mr. Cook. Mayor Bingham, Mr. Cook and Mr. Clark voted in favor of eliminating the Building Department addition from the plan, Mr. Hill voted against eliminating the addition. The motion passed.
3.The meeting was adjourned at 1:50PM on a motion from Mayor Bingham , seconded by Mr. Cook.
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